Three town centre Community Larders are open to support anyone struggling with hardship.

Formally known as ‘Food Clubs’, the Larders provide a wide range of essential food stables and household items at significantly reduced prices to alleviate financial pressures on local residents.

For individuals and families struggling financially, particularly during the summer holidays, providing discounted food and household goods will enable customers to afford other household expenses such as bills and rent. Unlike traditional food banks, these Larders require no referral vouchers or evidence of hardship ensuring easy accessibility for anyone struggling with hardship. The Larders are open to all members of the community, every week and available for as long as required.

Kyra from the Hope Centre explains; "We want people to know that help with food is available. We don't want any family struggling this summer holiday, worrying about how they are going to feed their children. If we can help provide low cost food staples, it will make budgets stretch further. We don't want to see people with spiralling debt or defaulting on rent payments which bigger problems for them further down the line".

The larders are also an important gateway to a wide range of additional support services such as benefits support, debt advice, mental health support and drug and addiction counselling, all offered with the utmost discretion and confidentiality.

Membership to Food Larders is available for a yearly cost of £10 and items at the Larders are costed with a points-based system where £5 gives customers 10 points and £10 gives customers 22 points. The value of items typically ranges from 1 to 2 points, and many items are available at 2-for1 pricing. The ability to purchase food staples at such low costs, gives members the ability to afford the higher supermarket prices and other household costs. This approach not only sustains the Larder’s operation but also gives members the ability to select items from a wide range of products every week, for as long as needed. "Hope is committed to helping people through periods of hardship," Kyra explains. "We encourage anyone struggling in the local community to visit our Larders and take advantage of the support available."

The times and locations of the larders are listed below:

• Kings Heath: Open every Wednesday, 9:15 – 10:45, at Spencer Working Men’s club, Tennyson Close, NN5 7HJ.
• Ash ST: open every Wednesday 12:00 – 1:00, at Northampton Hope Centre, Ash St, NN1 3HW.
• Blackthorn: Open every Friday, 10:00 – 11:00, at Blackthorn Community Centre, Longmead Court, NN3 8QD.

Customers just need to turn up to register.