A modern-day Robin Hood supermarket plans to deliver profits back to foodbanks.
The Community Grocer has just started delivering pantry staples to online shoppers in three cities, with profits going to the Salvation Army and its community partners.
Its Auckland kai champion, Joel Williams, is helping to run the initiative.
“We’re working in partnership with market gardeners, it’s an online shopping platform where anybody can jump online, order some groceries, choose their pick up point that they want to pick it up from,” he said.
“That sounds pretty normal, the difference is who are the shareholders? Community organisations, so the profits from the sale of these items come to community organisations and we think that’s a different level of ethics involved in the supermarket game.”
It has so far rolled out its click-and-collect stores in Palmerston North, Hamilton and Auckland – each has a few pick-up points, including churches.
There’s a plan to go national.
Government funding cuts last year saw many social services lay off financial mentors and social workers.
“Every person that I talk to in the sector is searching for ways to make what they do more sustainable or even make what they do not needed anymore,” Williams said.
“The goal is to get to a point where we’re getting revenue in enough that we can pay for a social worker, that we can pay for a financial mentor because currently we don’t have government funded contracts for a lot of our workers.”
The Community Grocer buys wholesale and sells staples – fruit, vegetables, meat and canned goods – and does not plan to compete on scale and price with the two main chains.
In 2023, online supermarket Supie folded after two years, in part due to a lack of sales and scale, according to the liquidators.
Consumer NZ spokesperson Chis Schulz said the country needs more independent supermarkets.
“We don’t have enough of them, I do know in Australia there are a lot more independent markets they make up 30-40 percent of the market over there and we know their grocery prices are lower,” he said.
“What community supermarkets can offer is competition, we just desperately need it. You can see with the recent kerfuffle over butter prices, how everyone was heading out to Costco to get that cheaper butter, people want cheaper prices, they’re desperate for cheaper prices.”
Stats NZ data shows inflation jumped to a 12-month high in June, spurred by rates, rent, power and food costs.
Shirley McCombe is the general manager of Tauranga free budgeting service, Bay Financial Mentor, and said the Community Grocer model is a welcome addition to the market.
“I like that the funds are going back into the organisation because there is such a need for people to get support around their financial wellbeing, there are still so many people struggling with the cost of food. It’s awesome that something like this is here.”
McCombe said their budgeting service was in demand because more people were struggling with the cost of living.
“The cost of accommodation is so high, the cost of fuel is so high. People start to cut away at the things they can reduce, they stop paying insurances, they stop going to the doctor and all sorts of things.”
Salvation Army community ministries manager in Palmerston North, Craig Fleury, helped set up the first Community Grocer in the city – a concept in the making for almost two years.
“The Community Grocer gives people the opportunity to look at a different model and say well there are other things that are possible.”
He hoped it makes a difference.
“If we did anything to influence what happens in the bigger scene it would be going well there is this project, it’s very small, is scalable…and would that then impact the bigger wider market,” Fleury said.
“We’re trying to stand up as an honest to goodness community grocer, where people go and it works for them and there’s the added factor of this doing good. It’s a double tick.
Looking ahead, the grocery commissioner’s second annual report is due out in September.
