‘We’re here to serve the community and that legacy is set to continue’

Big Local Shadsworth with Whitebirk has played a vital role for local residents through its community shop, providing low-cost food boxes to families, feeding children during the summer holidays, and tackling knife crime. Now, as they celebrate completing their Big Local journey, they’re looking to the future – and to their dedicated team of volunteers who will continue their work for years to come, as chair Elaine explains.

We’re finding that local people are feeling the squeeze like never before, even families who are working are struggling to make ends meet. The area covered by our Big Local has high levels of unemployment and crime, with lots of single parent families.

Shadsworth with Whitebirk Big Local has been vital in supporting the community in the deprived area covered by the ward, on the eastern edge of Blackburn. No one else is feeding the number of children in the school holidays or providing low-cost food boxes like we are.

Without us, a lot of people would have nowhere to turn, once they’ve exhausted the amount of times they can use the local food bank.

The Big Local Community Shop

When our Big Local started out, we didn’t have any premises. We’d take people to the supermarket and pay for their shopping, or we’d give them a £50 voucher. But it became unsustainable and we needed a base where we could help more people.

We couldn’t find anything that was suitable, but then a shop became available. It was in the heart of the community, between Shadsworth and Whitebirk. We took over the lease four years ago and it’s flourished. We’ve got people from as far away as Bolton and Preston coming, as there’s nothing else like it locally.

Shadsworth with Whitebirk Big Local partnership members and volunteers outside The Big Local Community Shop. Photo: Local Trust/Orrin Saint Pierre

In part of the shop, people can buy cheap clothes and things for the house, like bedding. Then, in the other part, there’s a low-cost supermarket that sells everything from pet food and nappies to frozen and fresh food.

The food we stock is close to, or just past, its best before date, saving it from going to landfill. This food is cheaper for us to buy, which means we can pass these savings on to the community. A loaf of bread and four pints of milk is just £2. We run meal deals, like two pizzas, a bag of chips, two garlic breads and a cheesecake for £4. Anyone can access the shop. They don’t need to be on benefits.

Combatting school holiday hunger

Every school holiday, we feed children for free through our #FightingHolidayHunger campaign, which we’ve been running for around four years. We give out packed lunches with sandwiches, crisps, a drink and a piece of fruit. We advertise these grab bags through the schools before they break up and parents can drop into the shop.

We feed over 500 children every week during the school holidays. It’s heartbreaking to see these numbers and know that without us, kids would be going hungry.

Schools contact us and tell us about families who are struggling, and we’ll drop off food parcels to them. We also provide pre-loved school uniforms in the shop, so families can come in and take what they need.

We opened the shop just before the pandemic hit and partnered with FareShare, a charity which redistributes food that would otherwise go to waste. Our volunteers would make up food packages and deliver them for free to older people who couldn’t leave their homes or people who couldn’t afford food.

Since FareShare began charging a monthly fee to cover their operational costs, we introduced a £6 charge for our food boxes and use Big Local funds to cover any additional costs. Each box contains food worth around £30 – £40 if you got it from a supermarket. When we get referrals from social services or schools, then people can get the boxes for free.

We have also bought a van to pick up all the stock we need for the shop and go further afield to get things cheaper.

A hub for everyone

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we run the Welcome Hub – which is called the Warm Hub in the winter – from the shop. People can have a hot drink, charge any devices for free, have a chat and get a meal for 50p. Without the hub, some people wouldn’t see anyone. We’ve been running it since September 2023 and we can have 20 people in for a meal.

Our community playgroup runs three times a week at the church hall and costs £1. Children get juice and toast, and parents and carers get a brew and toast too. We have around 13 families that come along. Parents and carers get out of the house and they can mingle. Children get to socialise before going to nursery and learn vital skills, like sharing.

A key part of our programme is delivering community events. The Christmas one involves a fair and a party. We also make the shop into a grotto and the children come to visit Santa. All the locals say we have the best events and it gives the community a chance to come together and have fun. They can’t believe that we don’t get paid and that it’s all organised by volunteers.

We run coach trips in the summer where we take people to the beach for £5. We give the children buckets and spades and an ice cream. Watching the children’s faces light up is magical, some of them have never been to a beach.

Tackling knife crime

In Blackburn, like many deprived areas, we have problems with knife crime. To help combat this, we have a knife disposal bin here at the shop – we’re the only place in Blackburn to have one. We’ve had around 100 knives handed in over two years. Once a fortnight we leave the back gate open and people can drop knives in anonymously.

We understand that we’ll never eradicate knife crime, but for every knife disposed of, it means there’s one less on the streets and possibly one less stabbing.

We also have a partnership with an anti-knife charity called the JJ Effect. The founder, Byron Highton, established it after his brother Jon-Jo was killed. Byron goes into local schools for us and talks to young people about knife crime, raising awareness in a powerful and hard-hitting way. We started this work almost three years ago and we’ve now funded seven courses in primary schools and colleges in the area.

Big Local’s legacy in Blackburn

We recently held our final event, a carnival with a strongman competition, axe throwing, archery, bouncy castles and games. It gave us the chance to look back and we made a big board of our achievements so everyone could see.

The strongman competition at Shadsworth with Whitebirk’s summer carnival. Photo: Local Trust/Orrin Saint Pierre

I feel proud that we’re the 50th area to close out. What’s really stood out for me is how much we’ve helped people in the community, especially children. People tell us we don’t blow our own trumpet enough. But we’re not here for the glory. We’re here to serve the community and that legacy is set to continue.

With help from our Big Local coordinator and other members of the Local Trust team, we’ve become a locally trusted organisation called The Big Local Community Shop, and we’re continuing with all the great projects that we’ve initiated over the last 10 years.

Now, the Big Local name is on the shop and that will be our legacy. And we’ll strive to help more and more people, so they know they aren’t alone.

Interview by Elspeth Massey

Read more inspiring stories from the people delivering Big Local on our Voices page.