A community store opened in Burry Port by West Wales anti-poverty charity Foothold Cymru and funded by the People’s Post Code Lottery, has been handed to the community.

The Community Store was opened in 2021, with support from the People’s Post Code Lottery, by Foothold Cymru as a response to the rising cost of living and environmental issues facing society. Foothold Cymru, in partnership with Pembrey and Burry Port Town Council ran the Store with the support of a team of dedicated volunteers, who maintained it and served customers.

The store, supporting hard pressed families, offers the local community weekly access to great quality, healthy food for a fraction of the supermarket prices.

Now the store is an established resource within the Burry Port community, the charity is handing it over to the team of volunteers to run independently, allowing the decisions about the resource to be made by the community, in the community.

Mike Theodoulou, Chief Executive of Foothold Cymru said: ‘Foothold Cymru used its knowledge of funding and it’s infrastructure to set up the much needed Community Store and supported the volunteers in running it. The volunteer team have done an incredible job and now it’s time for them to manage the store independently of us, because they are best placed to make decisions about the store that will impact the community.’

Dee Hamilton, Project Manager and Chair of the Store Committee said: ‘Without the support, knowledge and guidance we received from Foothold Cymru the initial set up and funding of the store would have been a much harder process to navigate. We’re glad that the Community Store is proving to be a valuable resource for the community and we’re looking forward to supporting the community over the coming months.’

The food is sourced from a variety of suppliers with a large element of it being surplus food from supermarkets that is still within its sell by date. This is supplemented by food sourced at low prices from whole sellers plus seasonal vegetables from local suppliers. As well as offering a low-cost shopping alternative, because the stores uses surplus food it’s also an environmentally low impact choice for the whole community, who have really got behind the store.

Dee Hamilton said: ‘We’ve had incredible support from local businesses and organisations like Co-op Burry Port, Co-op Stradey Parc, GI Carpets Burry Port, St Mary’s Church, Lighthouse Community Church and Pembrey Burry Port Town Council, to name a few. A huge ‘thank you’ to all of them for their support and helping to make this move to independence possible.’

If you would like to find out more about the Store, or if you would like to support the Store by making a donation please visit the store between 11am – 5pm on Tuesdays. The Store is located at 38 Station Road, Burry Port, SA16 0LP. Or you can call Dee on 07703 322602 for more information.

Photograph:
Burry Port Community Store Volunteers. Left to right: Isis Williams, Dee Hamilton, Louise James

*Notes for Editors*

Foothold Cymru is a social justice charity. 

Established 30 years ago, we aim to tackle both the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality by unlocking potential within the most vulnerable individuals and communities within West Wales.  In doing so, we recognise that the solutions, and the skills to put them in place, are often to be found in the lived experiences and understanding of the people and communities affected. 

We focus on three strategic objectives:

Living Well: We all want to see a Wales without poverty. Where everyone has a decent standard of living, thriving and not just surviving.   Therefore, we focus on the practical stuff. To help household incomes go that little bit further we deliver a range of services such as supporting access to affordable quality, fresh food and tools and equipment to maintain their homes. And we offer clothes and essentials to family’s who need them.

Learning Well: We understand a traditional learning setting doesn’t work for everyone. But it’s also important to get qualifications to take the next life step. We offer a range of formal and informal learning opportunities for young people and adults who’ve have been failed by the traditional system. .

Working Well: We provide employment and enterprise support in response to our community’s needs. As part of this we offer a range of employability training and paid work placements.

Coproduction is at the heart of what we do. It’s a way of working where people come together in an equal partnership to create something new or make changes to an existing situation.    The principle behind co-production is that everyone who might be affected by something has valuable knowledge and experience that can help to design and deliver it in a way that makes it more effective for everyone who uses it.

Based in the town of Llanelli, we support individuals and communities across West Wales.

For press and PR enquiries please contact Emily Wells emily@footholdcymru.org.uk emily Tel: 01554 779910 Mob: 07398 740599