New food pantry to help alleviate the rising cost of living will open in Leeds this week

St Vincent’s Social Enterprise will officially open their new pantry this week in an attempt to help those who are struggling to afford the essentials – giving people a dignified way to shop and an alternative to using a food bank.

Sitting on Silk Mill Drive, Vinnie’s Food Pantry will be open every Thursday and Friday from 10am until 3pm. The new shop will work on a membership basis to ensure an even and fair distribution of lower cost items to those who need it. This will also ensure that a greater number of people can benefit from this new initiative. 

One of the main aims of Vinnie’s Food Pantry was to ensure a fair and unbiased system was in place to avoid the risk of people purchasing large amounts of certain items that others may need. Due to this, an individually priced and colour-coded system will be in place to ensure everyone has a fair opportunity to purchase essential and everyday items.

The idea came after St Vincent’s Social Enterprise was approached by Leeds City Council to see if the charity could offer support in setting up a new food pantry in the area – from there Vinnies Food Pantry was born with funding granted for 12 months.

Social Enterprise Manager, Julie-Anne Webb, said: 

“Our charity has a long history of providing food banks up and down the country, alongside our other support services such as welfare, debt, and housing advice.

“The feedback from these many service providers is that they are all seeing a rise of clients/beneficiaries suffering in-work poverty. Many of our staff have reported that their beneficiaries feel they shouldn’t use food banks as they are in work or that they would rather give something than accept items free of charge. Some even feel that others are in worse situations than their own.”

It is hoped that the new initiative will not only help those who are struggling with the rising cost of living but will also strengthen the community and ensure that those who may be struggling with other worries have somewhere they can come to talk about their problems without being judged. 

The grand opening will take place this week, Thursday October 24, and will be an opportunity for people to have a look around the shop and speak to the wider St Vincent’s Social Enterprise team. 

Vinnie’s Food Pantry and St Vincent’s Social Enterprise sit within the wider St Vincent de Paul Society (England and Wales) which aims to tackle poverty in all its forms regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or any other circumstances.