‘It’s the highlight of my week’ says Towcester Community Larder member

Towcester Community Larder opened its doors to everyone in April 2021 and it is a shopping experience like no other. For £10 you can become a member for a year and each time you pop in, you can spend from as little as £4, as a monthly member, to fill your shopping bag.

Kevin Adams, who manages the club, opens a coffee counter, chairs are laid out and a welcoming social atmosphere will hit you the minute you walk in. You can pop down to chat, drink tea, get advice and tips on cooking or just enjoy the warm, community spirit.

There are more than 60 volunteers that help out with the overall running of the larders in both Towcester and Roade and you will meet a few of them on a Thursday morning. They help with tasks needed to create this smooth-running scheme. Picking up and delivering food, sorting, packing and baking, are just a few of the jobs, and one thing you will notice when you see them - they are all smiling.

Isn’t this a food bank?

Katie Steele, Towcester Community Larder Co-ordinator, makes it very clear. She said: “No, the larder is not a food bank. We do provide some amazing savings, but we aren’t for those in crisis. Anyone can shop here. Whether you like to save money on your food shop, save food from waste or just want to come and meet new friends, this is a membership anyone can have.”

Mum-of-four Katrina Leahy is a member of the community larder and said: “Coming here on a Thursday is the highlight of my week. With four children I’m always keen to find ways I can reduce my bills. I love the savings I can make here and reduced packaging. Being able to find different things every week that I wouldn’t usually buy is great and encourages me to cook from scratch.”

Where does the food come from?

The larder has some generous, ethical and forward thinking businesses in our area and the Chronicle & Echo will feature each of those involved over the following weeks so you can see the sorts of food you can find at the community larders. SOFEA, a partner of Fareshare, Waitrose (Towcester and Daventry), Tesco (Towcester), Aldi (Northampton(, Morrisons (Banbury, Northampton and Milton Keynes), Faith Dimensions (Wolverton) and Whittlebury Bakery and KFC are all regular contributors. The larders also work closely with Silverstone Circuits to save food from going to waste after events, such as the F1 Grand Prix and the Motor GP.

Miranda Wixon larder volunteer said: “If all the food businesses in our area can automatically think of us when it comes to food surplus, they will be helping themselves and their community.” Miranda was the driving force behind setting up the Towcester and Roade Larder, alongside Katie Steele and Brenda Wolfe (the Roade co-ordinator) and she would love to see this link more and more communities together.

Miranda added: “There are pockets of isolation and poverty in this part of the county where people are struggling to either access shops or find ways to save money and this is a way we can help. If everyone would use it, donate to it, or volunteer to help with it, this would assist us to work on the logistics of making this service even more widespread.”

The larder currently runs in Towcester on a Wednesday 4-6pm, Thursday 10-11am and in Roade on a Monday 1.30-2.15pm and members can choose which session is best for them to attend.

What can you get for £5?

I went down to the community larder and experienced a £5 shop as a ‘pay as you go’ member, which is 10 items. I was overwhelmed by the choice and quality available; chilled and frozen food, toiletries, pet food, and store cupboard basics were all laid out. I was introduced to the volunteers and showed the shopping room that had been set up and crammed with goodies they had been collecting.

I shopped for my essentials, such as baked beans, milk, pasta, rice, sauces and tea bags and able to choose from a “free” area where I picked up pizza, paella and cheese, which weren’t part of my 10 items. After I had all of my items I was then introduced to the fruit and vegetable section, which were all free.

Katie added: “We believe everyone should have access to fruit and vegetables so this is always free. We always try to keep stocks of the basic store cupboard items and you can also ask us about how to cook something or use any of the ingredients. Some of our volunteers have fantastic recipe ideas.”

After I had visited the bread mountain (yes, it was a mountain) I could then pick up a couple of sweet treats and even some flowers that had been donated.

My £5 bag was full of an incredible choice and quantity and I was really inspired by the fresh vegetables and fruit available to me.

I can see many benefits in this way of shopping for both my pocket, environment and just the enjoyment of it.

The spirit at the Towcester Community Larder really is incredible and Katie certainly runs a well organised and lively event with her team. She said: “We can’t thank the volunteers enough for their commitment and dedication they give, as it’s their hard work that makes the scheme work.”

I would recommend following Miranda’s tip: ‘Use it, donate to it, or volunteer to run it,’ so the Towcester Community Larder, and the others in the area, become the best way to shop.

If you want to find out more, visit https://www.snvb.org.uk/projects-and-services/snvb-community-larders/