Westgate Community Corner opened its doors in October 2025 as a new community hub in the Westgate area of Gloucester. At its heart is a membership-based community pantry, where food and other essential items are sold for 10 – 50% lower than standard retail prices. The pantry is open to everyone, you do not have to be on benefits to access its support, and the aim is to help people access affordable food and have choice over the food they buy during rising living costs.
“Our aim is to develop the pantry into a community corner shop with pantry benefits as a part of the offer. The shop will focus on store cupboard basics and fresh food and will offer opportunities for employment, training and volunteering. We are also looking at how we can build in additional support such as financial and budgeting advice.”
What the project involves
The shop includes a refill station, which was planned with input from local residents and offers items such as pasta, beans, oats, and spices. This allows members to buy affordable store cupboard essentials in quantities that work for their needs and budgets.
The team is also exploring practical ways to encourage healthier food choices, including trialling pre-prepared vegetables to make fresh produce easier and more accessible for customers. Having the Community Café means the team can split larger packs of food, such as meat, into smaller packs which makes it accessible for smaller households.
Alongside food, the site includes a Social Action Hub where people can access support, develop community organising skills, and connect with other support services. The hub also creates opportunities for volunteering, training and work experience, helping people build confidence, skills and social connections.
What has helped us succeed
Westgate Community Corner works closely with other local projects, including Glos Soup, and is connected to two Community Roots CIC projects: Gloucester Park Community Café and The Ewe Space – Social Action Hub and Pantry in Matson, supporting access to affordable food and strengthening community connections across the city. Key pillars of success include:
- Resident-led Planning: Involving local people directly in choosing the stock for the refill station ensures the hub explicitly meets neighbourhood needs.
- Integrated Support: Merging a dignity-first food shop with a dedicated Social Action Hub so customers can access broader advice naturally.
- City-wide Collaboration: Through Nourishing Gloucester, we link with established food initiatives in Gloucester to share resources and knowledge.
- Support from Gloucester City Homes – who own the building the Hub in based in.
- A start up grant from Feeding Britain and additional grants from a local councillor and Gloucester City Council.
- A subscription to FareShare – which has meant we have received a range of ambient, fresh and chilled foods each weeks.
The difference we have made
- Affordable Access: Provided an immediate financial buffer for local families by offering daily food essentials at 10% below standard retail costs. Currently, the pantry supports 48 households (101 members).
- Dignity and Choice: Allow residents to choose what they want to buy and in the quantities they need.
- Healthier Habits: Lowered the barriers to healthy eating through active trials of pre-prepared fresh vegetables.
- Wider Support: The Hub is a foodbank referrer, and also works with the Good Things Foundation to offer free sim cards to community members in need.
“One of our members shared that being able to pay for points in advance has made is easier for them to budget across the month, and pantry prices mean that not only can they afford to get food for meals, they have been able to have fruit again.”
Plans for the future
Looking ahead, Westgate Community Corner aims to deepen its community impact and grow its hub services by focusing on a few core areas:
- Improving and expanding the pantry offering to develop it into a shop.
- Supporting people to develop skills by offering training and volunteering opportunities across all 3 of our projects.
- Working with residents to discover more about the community through running a Westgate Community Conversation.
