We want everyone to use our 'very green grocery'

The Very Green Grocery, run by Changing Lives Together, is encouraging more Cheshire residents to use its low-cost community shops in Northwich, Winsford and Crewe.

A Cheshire charity is urging more people to use its “very green” grocery service, which helps reduce food waste while offering affordable food to local households.

The Very Green Grocery, run by Changing Lives Together, operates community grocery sites in Northwich, Winsford and Crewe.

The scheme collects surplus food from supermarkets, food distributors, manufacturers and haulage companies, then makes it available to local people at low cost.

Its aim is simple: stop good food from going to waste and help households stretch their weekly budgets.

The grocery is open to members, with free membership available. Once signed up, members can shop up to twice a week and pay an £8 donation for groceries that would usually have an estimated retail value of between £25 and £40.

The model is different from a traditional food bank. It is designed as a community grocery, giving people a regular place to shop affordably while helping reduce waste across the local food system.

Changing Lives Together says the project works with local supermarkets, food distributors and haulage companies to accept surplus stock and make sure edible food is used rather than thrown away.

That can include fruit, vegetables, bakery items, cupboard staples, frozen food and other groceries, depending on what has been donated or rescued that week.

For families across Cheshire, the service comes at a time when food bills remain a major pressure. Even though inflation has eased from its peak, many everyday essentials are still much more expensive than they were before the cost-of-living crisis.

A low-cost weekly shop can make a real difference for households trying to manage rent, mortgages, energy bills, council tax, transport and food at the same time.

The environmental side is just as important.

Food waste remains a major problem, particularly when edible products are rejected because of surplus stock, short dates, damaged packaging or supply-chain changes. The Very Green Grocery gives that food another route to reach people instead of being discarded.

That makes the project both practical and sustainable.

For shoppers, it can reduce the cost of groceries. For suppliers, it offers a way to put surplus food to good use. For the wider community, it helps cut waste while supporting people who may be under financial pressure.

The service is also designed to be accessible. Changing Lives Together says membership is free, and people can sign up in store during opening hours. Only one person per household can register, and members can use any of the grocery sites, subject to the twice-a-week limit.

The Northwich site operates from The Old School House on Manchester Road, while the Winsford site runs from Winsford Community Hub on High Street. The Crewe grocery operates from ReUse Warehouse Crewe at Victoria Square.

The organisation also accepts food donations, although it cannot take food past its use-by date. Large local donations may be collected by arrangement, while smaller donations can be dropped off at its sites after checking with the team.

The message from the project is that the grocery is not only for people in crisis. It is also for residents who want to cut waste, shop more sustainably and make their weekly food budget go further.

That point matters because some people may avoid community food schemes because they worry they are taking support away from someone else. The Very Green Grocery’s model is built around keeping surplus food moving, and the more people use it, the more useful the service becomes.

In Cheshire West and Chester’s community stories, The Very Green Grocery is described as a social supermarket created to rescue perfectly good food from being wasted and offer it to communities at a pocket-friendly price.

The project also fits into a wider national shift. Across the UK, community groceries, social supermarkets and food-rescue schemes are becoming more visible as charities try to tackle food waste and household hardship at the same time.

For Cheshire residents, the appeal is straightforward. It is a way to save money, reduce waste and support a local charity working in the community.

The stock available will vary depending on donations and surplus supply, so shoppers should not expect the same items every time. But that is part of the model: food that might otherwise be wasted is redirected quickly to people who can use it.

For many households, that can mean fresh produce, bakery items, tins, freezer goods and other basics at a fraction of the usual retail price.

The charity is now encouraging more residents to see the grocery as a normal, useful and environmentally responsible way to shop.

At a time when many families are still watching every pound, The Very Green Grocery offers a simple idea with a double benefit: cheaper food for local people and less waste for Cheshire.

Open article on Cheshire Today