14/05/2026
We recently received a comment asking a few questions including, why the Village Larder isn’t run as a bigger high street shop, so we wanted to take a moment to explain what the Larder is, why it exists, and how it works.
The Village Larder was established during COVID to support local people facing a period of financial hardship. That remains our purpose today. We are not a supermarket or commercial business. We are a small, community-based food support project designed to help people access affordable everyday food while keeping dignity and choice at the heart of what we do.
The Larder is heavily subsidised through a combination of council funding and generous community donations. Every £1 a member pays goes much further than it would in a normal shop.
Here’s how the points system works:
Each point costs the shopper 20p
1 point = 50p shop value
So in practice:
• If a member pays £4, they receive 20 points which gives them around £10 worth of food
• If a member pays £6, they receive 30 points which gives them around £15 worth of food
This subsidy is what allows families and individuals to stretch their food budget further during difficult times.
We ask members to register because we must report our footfall and usage figures to the council in order to continue securing funding for the project. Without that support, the Larder could not continue to operate.
We are also part of Community Roots at Boyd Orr, which means during the growing season we’re able to offer fresh fruit and vegetables from the community garden too.
Our shop is intentionally small and simple. We stock limited lines, but enough to help folk do a basic weekly shop, including items such as milk, butter, fresh meats, pasta, rice, tinned foods, cereals, diluting juice and household essentials. We also regularly receive surplus food which helps add variety and we share this for free.
The reason we operate from the community centre is simple: keeping overheads low means we can keep food affordable. A high street premises with commercial rent, utilities and staffing costs would dramatically increase running costs and reduce the support we can offer.
We also ask people to book shopping slots because:
• it helps us manage stock fairly
• it reduces waste
• and it allows our volunteer team to plan their time
The Village Larder is run on a shoestring by a small group of incredibly generous volunteers who give their time to support the community.
We’re proud of what this project offers and grateful to everyone who supports it, shops with us, volunteers, donates or helps spread the word. ❤️
We hope that helps you to understand what we do and why we are here 😊
