Northants community larders celebrate half-a-decade of distributing surplus food at a discounted cost
Two community larders in Northamptonshire recently celebrated half-a-decade of distributing surplus food at a discounted cost, through an initiative described as a social supermarket.
The South Northants Volunteer Bureau (snvb) larders differ from food banks. Where a food bank is designed specifically for members of the community in need and experiencing food poverty, a larder is open to all regardless of need.
Whether you are someone who wants to save money on their food shop, save food from waste, or use the opportunity to come and meet new people, the membership is open to anyone.
The Towcester and Roade Community Larders purchase surplus food from an organisation called SOFEA, which is a partner of FareShare. They rescue food surplus from the national supply chain to ensure it does not go to waste. Donations are also made by businesses.
The larders have a wide variety of items on offer, including chilled and frozen food, fruit and vegetables, toiletries, pet food and store cupboard basics.
In order to afford the food needed for all members of the larder, there is a charge and different membership tiers are available after paying an annual joining fee.
Depending on the membership tier, you get a certain amount of points to utilise at each weekly session, or attendees can pay as they go.
The Towcester larder is held at Riverside Centre in Islington Road and the Roade larder is held at Roade Village Hall. These are run by more than 100 volunteers and serve 400 people per week.
‘It’s been a massive journey’
Larder coordinator Katie Steele spoke to the Chronicle & Echo to celebrate five years since the initiative was introduced in the county in November 2020.
“We are a membership service that distributes surplus food at discounted cost, for people who may be struggling on a budget and those who want to save food from waste,” said Katie.
“We offered food boxes to start with during Covid, when people were struggling with unemployment and stretched budgets. There was surplus food because of Brexit too, and we wanted to make that food available for people to benefit from.”
Katie says it has been a “massive journey” over the past five years, having expanded from a handful of volunteers to more than 100 – as well as an increase from 30 to 400 weekly shoppers.
“We’ve gone from giving away half a tonne of food to five tonnes every week,” said Katie. “We’ve had to significantly increase our fridge and freezer capacity, support from volunteers, and we now operate for six days a week. We are open to the public for three of them.”
One of the biggest benefits of the service is the free fruit and vegetables available to all, as the team do not want people to have to choose between this and other food options for their families.
The organisation had a “brilliant time” celebrating the five-year food larder anniversary at Towcester Mill Brewery, and Whittlebury Hall created a meal using the surplus food that snvb are used to providing to their members.
The team’s proudest achievement of 2025 is securing the Riverside Centre in Islington Road and starting the process of turning it into a welcoming community hub with a variety of services in Towcester.
This includes the food larder, a food bank, benefits advice, wellbeing support and a community cafe will soon be opening for visitors to enjoy.
“We’re distributing Christmas food support bags to 12 schools to help families through a difficult patch,” said Katie. “I want to say thanks to all the volunteers who have selflessly donated so much of their time. They are our lifeblood and keep us all going.”