THERE’S a supermarket you may have never heard of where you can get a weekly shop for as little as £3.50.
Many households are looking for clever ways to save money as rising bills and the general cost of living has left many people struggling.
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And even though energy costs are set to decrease over the summer, food bills are still sky high.
But there’s a way shoppers can get food and cupboard staples at a discounted price.
Your Local Pantry is a social supermarket that sells surplus food from major supermarkets at a discounted price.
A social supermarket gives people struggling with paying for food and other essentials and on a low income the chance to do their weekly shop at a much lower price.
These products may no longer be able to be sold at their original store but are still more than safe to eat.
There are more than 80 Your Local Pantry’s across the UK including in Edinburgh, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and South Wales.
Shoppers could save around £780 a year by shopping at a Your Local Pantry.
You’ll need to be a member to be able to shop there and you can apply online via yourlocalpantry.co.uk.
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Membership costs £3.50 a week and with that you’ll be able to select from around 10 items to choose from.
Items include fresh fruit and veg, cupboard staples, dairy items and then bakery products.
A load of Kingsmill medium bread from Sainsbury’s would cost you £1.30 while a tin of beans could cost you £1.40 from Tesco.
That’s only two items and you’re already at £2.70 so you’re saving a lot by using the pantry.
You’ll need to live near one of the pantries to be able to join – you can find your local one on the same link above.
From there, you’ll fill in an application form which will be reviewed.
You’ll then be told if you have been successful.
We’ve asked Your Local Pantry what the eligibility criteria is and we’ll update the piece once we know more.
But most social supermarkets are for people on low incomes, on certain benefits or are struggling with the cost of living.
Is there anything similar out there?
There are other social supermarkets you can join if you don’t have a Your Local Pantry near you.
There’s Community Grocery, Community Shop and Company Shop which all offer discounted food and essentials for people on low-incomes.
They’re not always well publicised so it’s worth having a look online as you may have a couple near you.
You could also ask your local council as they should have information on social supermarkets in the borough.
In addition, Too Good to Go is an app that allows you to rescue end-of-day food from many popular cafes, restaurants, shops and supermarkets that would otherwise go in the bin.
All you need to do is download and set your location on the Too Good To Go app and you can choose from nearby stores listing their unsold food at a reduced price.
Similar to Too Good To Go, you can search for nearby food to pick up based on your location through the Karma app.
You can then purchase meals at discounted prices.
However, unlike Too Good To Go, Karma will tell you what food you are getting, so there is even less chance of it going to waste.
No Waste is an excellent way to get organised, as you can scan your food and list it by expiry date, name or category.
It makes it easier to see what you are running out of, so you don’t double up on items in your next shop.
Lists can be shared with family so you can give away unwanted food plus you can track how much you are wasting by deleting items you have eaten or that have expired.
How else can I save on my supermarket shop?
There are plenty of other ways to save on your supermarket shop.
You can try looking out for yellow or red stickers on products which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh you’ll have to eat it fast, or freeze it to have another time.
Sometimes even timing your shop to stock up just as items are discounted on the shelves can help you get the best bargains – lots of shoppers have said this is in the evening typically.
Making a list could save you some money too as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
That means going for “own” or “value” type products instead of “finest” or “luxury” lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes as well where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
