15 February 2023
Creating a community at the Cosham Larder
The Cosham Larder was founded by Reverend Amy Webb in February 2021 to support the community and reduce food waste around Cosham, Paulsgrove and Wymering by selling produce delivered by FareShare from St Philip’s Church in Cosham.
“We work sort of like a community shop,” said manager Emma Vigor. “It’s simply for anyone who lives in the areas of Cosham, Paulsgrove and Wymering and we set out just to help. It helps us prevent food waste, of course, but we can offer food at a reduced price too.”
For just £1 per year, local residents can become a member of the Larder, which allows them to use the shop and buy 10 items for £3 or 20 items for £6.
More food and variety
Despite only being in operation for a little over a year, the Cosham Larder was seeing such a positive response to the food provided by FareShare that they decided to increase their FareShare order, said Emma. “We actually started off with 120 kilograms per week from FareShare, which is one of the lowest amounts you can get. And it’s now up to 360 kilograms!”
With so much fresh produce every week, the Larder found they were getting some items people weren’t familiar with: “We get plenty of the common items — things like carrots, potatoes and apples — but we do get some more unique items too,” said Emma. “So things like artichokes, mangoes and passion fruit; some of our customers didn’t know what to do with them. That’s why we started making our recipe cards. So we’re sort of teaching people how to cook these items that you wouldn’t necessarily pick up in your weekly shop.”
The recipe cards have been a popular addition, encouraging people to explore new foods and eat healthier while keeping costs low.
Helping the community when they need it most
“We cover such a broad area of the community that we see people coming to us for all sorts of reasons. For many it’s to reduce food waste, but we also see customers who struggle with food poverty and fuel poverty. So being able to access a wide range of food locally at much more affordable prices makes a big difference to many. Each item in the shop costs the equivalent of 30p and they don’t need to travel far to get to us,” said Emma.
In the run up to the school holidays, Emma and the volunteers at the Larder are preparing for children visiting with their parents: “We always see an increase in children actually attending with their parents during the summer holidays. We’ll see more families coming to the Larder and picking big family packs of food and sometimes some snack items to tide the kids over during the day. We also actually see the need for some activities sometimes too, things to keep the children entertained while their parents are looking through the Larder. So quite often, we’ll host craft sessions or colouring sessions too.”
Looking to the future
After a rapid expansion in their first year, Emma is hopeful for even more in the not-too-distant future: “We’re hoping to increase opening times to include weekends or evenings. This will cater to people who have worked during the day, who either want to prevent food waste or can’t necessarily afford a big shop.
“It also means we could reach out to different people in the community, like people who may need a family member to support them and can only visit us on a weekend or in the evening. I think the fact that we get our food from FareShare means we’re able to increase our delivery and make sure we have that stock there for those new members who’ll need it at those new opening times.”
A shout out from Emma and the Cosham Larder team
“I’d like to give a little shout out to our delivery drivers. It’s the same three or four people that we get, but they are always so helpful. Cheery and friendly, and we’ve gotten to know them quite well. Their professionalism and kindness represent the company really well, so they definitely deserve a shout out!”
