Lincoln Community Grocery, supported by the Government’s Be Lincoln, Town Deal and in partnership with the Message Trust, will re-locate to a permanent premises in January after a successful first year.
New permanent residency confirmed for Lincoln Community Grocery, supported by a £19m Town Deal as part of the Towns Fund.
Lincoln Community Grocery, supported by the Government’s Be Lincoln, Town Deal and in partnership with the Message Trust, will re-locate to a permanent premises in January after a successful first year.
Wednesday 5 October marked the 1st anniversary for the Store of Stories project, with the shop first opening at Central Methodist Church on Lincoln High Street in 2021.
Store of Stories, which will relocate to Beaumont Manor, provides low cost, locally supplied surplus or waste food that would otherwise go to landfill to Lincoln residents, with the aim to improve mental health and people’s budgets.
Central Methodist Church offered its building as the pilot venue for the grocery, which has also aimed to address issues of food poverty and support communities by delivering free courses to improve mental health and skillsets.
While the Central Methodist Church has provided a home for the last year, renovation on the Grade II listed building Beaumont Manor has now begun, thanks to £226,000 funding from the Lincoln Town Deal.
This funding forms part of the Be Lincoln Town Deal, which has seen £19 million awarded to the city
to drive economic regeneration and deliver long-term economic and productivity growth.
The Town Deal also aims to address food poverty issues, supporting clean growth through the harnessing of ‘waste’ food and helping local people build resilience. The Store of Stories project was created to also increase collaboration with public, private and community sectors and providing opportunities for volunteering in the social economy.
The Towns Fund will support 101 places across England to develop Town Deal proposals, to drive economic regeneration and deliver long-term economic and productivity growth.
Simon Hawking, Chief Executive of Acts Trust said:
“Every product in the store has a story to tell, whether that’s produce that would have gone to waste or items that were surplus to a previous supplier.”
Lincoln Community Grocery goes beyond food. People are looking for smarter and greener ways to shop while saving money, the grocery provides that service. We also offer free courses based around cooking, life skills and financial budgeting to support the local community and wellbeing of local residents.”
Liam Scully, Chair of the Be Lincoln Town Deal Board added:
“The Towns Fund will help contribute to Lincoln’s cultural and retail offer, while developing local community facilities.”
“The Store of Stories provides volunteering opportunities and free courses to members of the public, to strengthen skills amongst the community. We’re delighted to support the celebration of the project’s achievements and longevity.”
For more updates and information regarding the Town Deal projects, please visit Towns Fund Projects – City of Lincoln Council
We are excited to announce that Energize have been accepted onto the Holiday Activities & Food (HAF) programme!
The HAF programme is targeted at young people eligible for free school meals. The summer holidays are long, and families of children on FSM have it harder than ever right now. The HAF programme will ensure young people will not go hungry over the summer, and gives young people some brilliant activities to get involved in.
All young people deserve to have healthy, hot meals all year round, and a safe, fun place to be during the holidays. We are delighted to partner with the HAF programme, playing our part to ensure young people get the help and nourishment they need this summer.
Luke Wallace, Energize Manager
At the beginning of July for three days, we had an army of volunteers in Tesco on Wragby Road and Canwick Hill doing our annual Summer collection. It was a really busy and brilliant three days
Ricky has been volunteering with Lincoln Foodbank since January 2022. He is part of the Tuesday evening team at the warehouse. I wanted to shine a light on Ricky and let you all know what he’s been up to over the past year..
I wanted to use my opportunity this month to highlight the need and demand for Foodbank and to try and raise awareness. In the month of March Lincoln Foodbank fed 692 people of which 265 were children.
By Gill Simpson, Finance Manager, Acts Trust
What image does ‘Story Telling’ conjure up for you? ‘Once upon a time’ ….. ‘They lived happily ever after’ maybe. Perhaps it has taken you back to school, to that end of day story read to you before heading home. A story just before bedtime is a fond childhood memory for many people. In Britain most stories told are those read from a book brought alive with facial expressions, tone and pace of voice and a little embellishment from the reader. Some people are amazing at improvising stories they tell and in many cultures stories are used as a way of passing on traditions and history.
By Simon Hawking
When my eldest son was a baby, my wife and I visited an NCT sale. This is where parents can bring all their unused ‘nearly new’ baby things for a ‘bring and buy’ style sale.
Kerry Werling interviews Sue Brier
Tell me a little about yourself ….
I’m 72 years old, have been retired for a number of years and just love volunteering!