Plymouth food co-op opens to help people with bills

Plymouth food co-operative Connections had been awarded £252,500 to set up similar schemes

A new food co-operative has opened in Plymouth to help people with their bills and to cut down on waste.

The new co-operative in North Prospect is one of four food co-operatives in the city with others in Southway, Manadon and at the University of Plymouth.

There are 20 people in each food co-op, each of whom pay £3 per week and share food between them.

Plymouth City Council said Plymouth food co-operative Connections had been awarded £252,500 to set up other similar food support schemes in the city next year.

Distribution charity FareShare provides the food co-op with fruit and vegetables

Some of the food is provided by food surplus distribution charity FareShare - which the food co-op pays a subscription for - and some is bought in bulk at a discounted price by members at wholesalers and other supermarkets.

Members meet each week to unload the food delivery and share it out.

Nina Hoskins, a member, said: "It's saved us an absolute ton on our shopping bill."

She said it had led to her becoming more "experimental" in the kitchen and had also helped her to make friends and keep her bills down.

Kelly Fritzsche, the co-operative food organiser for Plymouth, said: "They are not just about a place to come and get food.

"We help each other as a community and we get something back."

She added that they get Citizens Advice in once a month as well as providing cookery courses, maths classes for adults and parents and food safety level 2.

"You will do something not just for yourself here but for the wider community," she said.