Community Groceries have always been about more than food, giving people support and introducing them to Jesus.
At our store in Bolton, our church partner has been running a money management course with Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and one of those coming along was Jackie. As she shopped recently, she chatted to the team about the impact the store and the CAP course was having on her saying, ‘I didn’t realise until I got Covid how much shopping at the Community Grocery helped my budget.
‘When I had to order food online during our isolation, my money dwindled rapidly and I had to contact the Council for help. I gladly sang your praises and told them how shopping with you was not only helping me to survive but also giving me a chance to make some great friends whenever I came in. The money management course at the grocery has helped me so much too and I can’t express how grateful I am to the grocery and to CAP for all the love and support. And now through the grocery, I’m getting involved in Kings Church and I’ve found a home and family which is priceless to me!’
Tasha has also been coming along to the course and has been a member of the grocery since the summer. The Mill grocery team first met her at the Summer Holiday Club as she brought along her younger sisters who she cares for and shared how she was struggling financially. As they got to know her, the team mentioned the course and Tasha jumped at the chance and has been coming along since the start. Last week she said to the team, ‘Coming along to the grocery and the CAP money management courses has changed my life. It’s made me full of hope that I can become debt free and soon!’ Tasha’s also been helping out volunteering at the grocery and brought her sisters along to distribute hampers over Christmas to people in the community because she said, ‘I want to give back.’
Find out more about our Community Groceries and the work we do at communitygrocery.org.uk and if you’d like to donate to our Community Groceries, visit communitygrocery.org.uk/donate
