Charity offers 'stigma-free' food poverty service

Charity offers 'stigma-free' food poverty service51 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJane DouglasSouth West, Okehampton

BBC The founder of Okehampton Community Kitchen and Foodbank, Rebecca Green, standing outside the doorway of a red brick building. She is wearing mid-blue denim dungarees with pink hearts embroidered all over them, and a fuchsia pink knitted three-quarter sleeve top underneath.

BBCRebecca Green has been involved in food projects in Okehampton and across the country for 30 years

A charity shop has opened with the aim of reducing the stigma around food poverty and pledging to offer good food, dignity and choice.

The Affordable Food Shop in Okehampton, Devon, also allowed people who would normally depend on the town's food bank to choose items for free using credit vouchers, rather than relying on pre‑packed parcels, bosses said.

The project is led by Rebecca Green, founder of the Okehampton Community Kitchen and Foodbank, who said she believed the model was a first in the UK.

Its goal was to reduce stigma, ease pressure on food banks and support people who were struggling, she said.

Two green boxes containing food, including instant porridge, bread and all sorts of different packets of pastries. There is a blackboard sign and it reads: 'Bargain Bags £2.50'.

Example of food for sale outside The Affordable Food Shop in Okehampton

Ms Green has been involved in food projects in Okehampton and across the country for around 30 years.

She runs the town's Community Kitchen, food bank and the Affordable Food Shop with the help of 16 volunteers aged between 14 and 79.

The shop, based in premises leased from the Royal British Legion, sells fresh and tinned food, alongside household goods at low prices, with no judgement.

Staff said it operated like a charity clothes shop but for food. Stock includes surplus items bought at reduced cost from organisations such as Fareshare South West.

Older woman with shoulder length wavy hair, wearing a vicar's white collar and red sweatshirt.

Maggy Whitehouse, Trustee, Okehampton Community Kitchen and Foodbank

Rebecca Green said: "I come from a background where we did not have food security. I know how much something like this would have meant to my mum.

"I lost my mum when she was 38, so just knowing other families don't have to go through what she went through motivates me."

She added that, while traditional food parcels were still available, many people now preferred to shop using vouchers.

She said: "They can come in, use their credit and choose what they actually want

"It gives people dignity, hope and choice, while also helping to reduce food waste."

Older woman wearing burgundy framed glasses, with shoulder length wavy hair. She is wearing ear rings, a neckland and a burgundy, red velvet coat with a a hood edged with black, soft fur.

One of The Affordable Food Shop's first customer, Suzie Roberts

Trustee and volunteer Maggy Whitehouse said the shop reflected a return to community support.

She said: "We used to live in communities where people helped each other automatically, but now we might not even know our neighbours.

"I've been so broken financially that I would have gone down on my knees for a food bank. Something like this would have been a godsend, so it's a privilege to be part of it."

One of the shop's first customers, Suzie Roberts, said she hoped the idea would spread and "every town should have one".

She said: "There's a stigma around food banks, especially for people who work full-time and still struggle. Here, there's no judgement — I think it's wonderful."

All money raised by the shop would be reinvested into supporting people who could not afford to buy food, staff said.