KingsMead Community shop
Running for over 5 years, Kingsmead Community Shop is our foundational project which enables us to stay connected to our wider community every Saturday. This intergenerational programme is run in collaboration between Made Up Collective and Rise365, a Black youth empowerment organisation.
The Shop operates as a Saturday Social Supermarket providing 6–8 bags of weekly groceries for a highly subsidised £10. Bags include fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, bread, milk, eggs, tinned goods, store cupboard essentials and cooked meals. The project was originally established during COVID-19 to support local residents who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and rising food costs.
Today the shop serves residents primarily from Kingsmead Estate and the wider Hackney area, with many customers from Global Majority backgrounds, particularly African and Caribbean heritage. Around 12–15 adult volunteers from Made Up Collective work alongside 15 young people from Rise365 to run the shop each week, with most volunteers living locally.
More than just a food project, the Community Shop has become a joyful community hub where neighbours connect, elders are supported, and young people build confidence, leadership skills and social responsibility. Alongside affordable food, the programme helps tackle social isolation, strengthen community pride and create opportunities for residents to move into volunteering, training and employment pathways.
