A community supermarket has launched in Hitchin.

The Hitchin Pantry is a community supermarket, which allows its members to do a weekly shop for their family, whilst keeping the bill at a fixed, affordable price.

Financial pressures brought on by the Covid pandemic has meant the number of families unable to afford food has risen considerably.

This included families in Hitchin and sounding areas some of whom were supported by weekly food deliveries from the Roman Catholic Parish of Our Lady Immaculate and St Andrew and Feed Up Warm Up.

But hand-outs like this do not allow people choice and can be stigmatising.

The new community pantry, which operates out of the newly furbished Scout Hut at the church of Our Lady Immaculate and St Andrew, gives members the chance to shop with choice and dignity.

Liz Wills, Hitchin resident and development worker for Caritas Westminster explains: "At the beginning of the pandemic we started delivering hampers of food to around 40 families a week – in total we have provided over 3,000 parcels to people who had been directly and financially impacted by the pandemic.

"We are now ready to move from a "hand-out" to a "hand-up" model. At a time of uncertainty, the fixed rate of £4 a week for a weekly shop will be a great help to members of the Hitchin Pantry, allowing them to buy a few other of life's essentials or simply pay their bills and heat their homes properly."

For just £4 a week they can choose a certain number of fresh, chilled and cupboard items, and as much fresh fruit and vegetables as they can carry.

The Hitchin Pantry has been set up by the Catholic Church with partner organisations Caritas Westminster and Feed Up Warm Up, which is a local homeless charity that has operated out of the Parish for several years.

The pantry was officially opened on last week by Bishop Paul McAleenan, auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, who said: "The Hitchin Pantry is real community in operation.

"It presents an atmosphere and environment where people don't feel they are being watched or judged, but are given space to shop as they would in any supermarket and have access to top quality provisions.

"There is no sense of any distinction between donor or helper or beneficiary, instead there is a sense of all being together for worthy cause."

See Hitchin Nub News for more on the excellent work the pantry does in our community.