Villagers to decide what will be in shop (From Malvern Gazette)

Villagers to decide what will be in shop

12:40pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News

LOCAL food producers are being invited to bring their wares to a tasting session for a community shop which is due to open this spring.

Alfrick and Lulsley Community Shop Ltd is holding the session on Saturday, March 10, so villagers can sample and decide what they would like stocked in their new shop.

It is the next step in the process of creating a shop that is truly supported by the community. Some 50 volunteers are already involved in preparations for the running of the shop and have put forward their ideas on what the shop should stock and what its opening hours will be. They meet every month and will, in the next two sessions, be receiving training in first aid and food hygiene.

A temporary building has been obtained and will be put in place in time for the shop’s big opening in May.

The shop will be opening without a post office facility initially.

“We are still in the process of filling in the right forms and getting approval from Post Office Ltd,” says chairman Alan Soper. “We think it will take a little longer than the time needed to open the shop.”

It is expected to follow a few months after the main shop opens. Plans are now afoot for the second phase of the shop project, building a more permanent structure. This has been made possible by grants and a loan.

“These would have been impossible to secure without the £18,000 raised directly from our villages and the more than 150 people who have become shareholders in the project,” added Mr Soper.

Anyone interested in supplying the community-run shop, either regularly or seasonally, can book their spot by contacting Tom Jardine on 01886 830085 or online by logging on to alfrickandlulsley.org/shop.