Ashmont Community Lounge and Grocery Store to offer cheap food to battlers

From Tuesday, November 29, the Ashmont Community Lounge and Grocery Store will offer staple groceries on the cheap – sometimes up to 70 per cent off – and the profits will go back into the community.

The store is planned to run as a three-week ‘pop up’ at the Ngurra Hub on Blakemore Avenue before moving up the road to the community centre next year.

During the trial period, healthcare card holders will be able to buy the basics like milk, tea, pasta and canned foods, which were purchased through a relief agency at a fraction of the wholesale price.

Community member Mikayla Shanahan said there was already a lot of interest in the project and it would be welcomed because most people just wanted a hand up, not a handout.

“I think it will be very important,” Ms Shanahan said.

“There are people in the community who go looking for relief food.

“It will be good in the long run because it’s about getting skills too.”

Liz Meakin and Tania Jones from the Ashmont Community Centre will work with residents in managing the new store, which will include a cafe staffed by students doing a barista course.

“This isn’t a charity,” Ms Meakin said. “It’s run by the community for the community, we’re trying to achieve social, not financial, gains.”

The ‘social enterprise’ is the brainchild of Social Outcomes Lab (SOL) founder and economist Nazia Ahmed, who has worked in the human services sector for more than a decade. Ms Ahmed said it offered “a different way of tackling community issues rather than short-lived programs that are not financially sustainable”.

“Access to affordable food is an issue for many community members who are ‘doing it tough’,” Ms Ahmed said.

“We hope to offer an alternative to residents regarding access to affordable everyday groceries and promote healthy eating.”

SOL is funding the trial and has support from the Uniting Church and a number of government agencies.

‘The response from all levels of government has been very supportive as well as non-government organisations working in the area, it’s been a collaborative effort,” Ms Ahmed said.

“It’s also an avenue for providing training and creating jobs in the area – currently 10 local Indigenous students are receiving café skills training in preparation for the opening.”

Ms Meakin said she also hoped the initiative could expand beyond Ashmont.

“If it works it will spread to Kooringal, Tolland, Mount Austin,” she said. “It’s about promoting healthy eating, education and inclusiveness, which are all very important.”