Bishops Frome Community Shop - 1st Anniversary

In January 2009 the Post Office and village shop in Bishops Frome closed leaving a community without a place to buy provisions. Wendy Roberts, who has lived in the village all her life, was concerned about the effect this would have on the community and together with a group of local people Wendy set up a shop attached to the village hall. The shop will celebrate its first anniversary on 23rd February.

The shop was set up as a Social Enterprise in the form of a community interest company and has been supported by local people and various support organizations including Midwest Rural Enterprise CIC. Wendy manages the shop with her good friend Eve and she has volunteers who help out too. All start up costs have been paid and the shop is making a profit, which will be used to help community groups such as the Internet Café and Youth Club.
Wendy commented “It has been a fantastic year, we have had such a lot of support it is really heartwarming. We have just joined the Making Local Food Work project and we are looking for new local producers all the time.”

To celebrate the shops First Anniversary and to launch the Making Local Food Work project, Wendy and her team held a local food market at Bishops Frome Village Centre. Local producers attended the event including Pencombe Bakery, The Handmade Scotch Egg Company, James Gourmet Coffee to name a few. There was also an event in the evening where local people came together to share a meal with food & drink supplied from local producers.

Many people have commented that Bishops Frome Community Shop is not just a village shop but also a meeting place where they get the chance to speak to local people in the community. Wendy knows and watches out for everyone, especially the children and older adults.