Asda has partnered with award-winning social supermarket Community Shop to open a brand-new store in Swarcliffe, north Leeds, on 28th March 2025.
The Community Shop store is the first to be funded by Asda, and will provide the local community with access to deeply discounted surplus products, affordable hot meals, skills workshops, and further learning opportunities.
Kris Comerford Chief Commercial Officer at Asda, and Gary Stott, Executive Chairman of Community Shop, cut the ribbon to open the new Community Shop this morning, with local dignitaries also in attendance, before the local community was welcomed into their new store. The opening of Community Shop Swarcliffe marks the 14th store in the UK.
Across the country, Community Shop tackles the root causes of poverty and food insecurity by empowering its members to develop skills and build a positive future for themselves, offering a hand up, not a handout.
Community Shop Swarcliffe has opened thanks to the support of Leeds-based Asda who, having donated surplus products to Community Shop for the last decade, has provided funding towards fixtures and fittings of Community Shop Swarcliffe.
The Swarcliffe store is a one of kind for Community Shop as it brings together several key community services under one roof. By working in partnership with Leeds City Council and the Swarcliffe Good Neighbours Scheme, a peer-to-peer social aid group, the new Community Shop has created a thriving and sustainable community asset within this building that will support people of all ages for many years to come.
Members can sign up now to access to access discounted products, the Community Kitchen, and also find out more about the upcoming workshops and programmes in the Community Hub.
Kris Comerford, Chief Commercial Officer at Asda, said: “Supporting our local communities is something we take great pride in at Asda, so we’re delighted to celebrate the opening of the new Community Store in Swarcliffe and continue our long-standing partnership with Community Shop. By providing access to deeply discounted essentials and to life-changing learning opportunities, we hope to give a helping hand to those most in need and make a long-term difference to the community.”
Gary Stott, Executive Chairman of Community Shop, commented: “For the past 12 years, Community Shop has not only provided our members with access to deeply discounted goods but also delivered life-changing programmes and holistic support so that our members develop their own capabilities and deliver a positive future for themselves. We’re delighted to continue our mission, empowering individuals, families, and communities across the Leeds area and I thank Asda for their support in helping us open this new store.”
Community Shop Swarcliffe is made up of three distinct but interconnected spaces – Community Store, Community Hub and Community Kitchen. The store will provide members with access to deeply discounted food and essentials, including fruit, vegetables and bread for only 20p. The profits from the store will be reinvested into Community Hub which will deliver life-changing holistic support and development, empowering people across the local community to develop their own capabilities and deliver a positive future for themselves, providing members with the personal tools they need to improve their own circumstances and address the causes of their food insecurity, in a supportive, safe environment. To complete the interconnected spaces, Community Shop Swarcliffe will have a Community Kitchen, a café that enables people to connect with others and learn through food, as well as providing home-cooked meals for the community with kids eating free every day.
Since its inception in 2013, Community Shop has supported over 73,000 families through this model, embedding resilience within communities and improving peoples’ circumstances for the long-term. Community Store has saved members over £50 million on their regular food shops, whilst Community Hubs have delivered more than 218,000 development programmes and Community Kitchens have fed over 880,000 children for free.
The store operates on a free membership basis and will be open to those on means-tested benefits who live in the local area. For more information companyshop.co.uk/community-shop
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