A supermarket in Barnsley has started selling cheap products to families who are on benefits.
Branded as a ‘social supermarket’, the store sells retailers’ surplus stock and items with damaged packaging, according to the BBC. The products will be sold at up to 70 per cent cheaper than normal in Goldthorpe, a former mining village near Barnsley.
Membership cards will be issued to eligible members of the public, who have to live in a certain postcode area and be on benefits.
The concept for the ‘social supermarket’ is modelled on similar welfare shops in mainland Europe.
Sarah Dunwell, director of social affairs at Company Shop, said that everything the shop sold was “wholesome or fit-for-purpose, but for some reason were not going to make it onto the shelves of a supermarket”.
“We think that people who are really struggling to stretch their household budget should be able to access this food,” she added.
Plans exist to open 20 of these stores, but Goldthorpe was chosen as the first location as it is considered to be one of the most deprived areas in the UK.
