Since 2020 Peckham Pantry has provided cheap but healthy food to people on low incomes The vision was to trial and test a new way to support people on low incomes, opening six days per week at a shop on Peckham Park Road in South East London.
The pleasant storefront allows locals to get a “supermarket shop” of a wide variety of goods at a discount rate. Members pay £4.50 to get ten items of foodstuffs and some other requisites such as nappies. An item could be a tin of beans, 10 apples or a ready meal. The venture, run by local charity Pecan, is sourced by supermarkets and other suppliers, so some items are short sell-bys or outdated (but still edible). I’d say the value of the average shop at the Pantry is about £20-25, so its great value-for-money.
In the foyer you can get a hot coffee, peruse leaflets on local events, and now there’s even a mini library of ‘take or bring’ paperbacks to enjoy. Most of the smiley staff are volunteers.
It’s a bit hit-and-miss what will be available: you can’t be sure to get a particular item, as you would in a conventional supermarket, but somehow the surprises make it more interesting – if you have say “one blue” left to spend (items are classified as “blues” or “reds” – which are usually the pricier items so you can take fewer) you might try an unusual soup or take a punt – as I did – on a bag of wholemeal chapati flour. 
The Pantry also sometimes has a few freebies, like veges or fruit that need to be eaten immediately, sauce sachets, or slightly stale pastries (that you can toast a bit to refresh them). Maybe it’s perverse, but I find the Pantry shopping more fun than ordinary supermarkets because of th
e “pot luck” elements, and on weekdays you rarely have to queue.
This venture is a boon to the locals: Peckham has a lot of social problems and deprivation, so the availability of a good quantity of decent food is welcome. It’s not junk food either, the selection is high-quality, and it’s not unusual to find “posh brands” among the offerings on the shelves.
Overall, Peckham Pantry is a successful positive venture for the community. As you are paying for the goods it doesn’t have the stigma of a food bank, yet allows people on restricted incomes to buy healthy food.
