Coalville's Marlene Reid Centre has been detailing how its Social Supermarket caters for the local community.

As part of the MRC winning a bronze as part of Good Food Leicestershire's Sustainable Food Places awards, the Belvoir Road centre has been highlighted as one of seven district projects.

Good Food Leicestershire says, there is a proper community food hub at The Marlene Reid Centre.

The Coalville venue runs the Plenty2Cook social supermarket on Wednesdays and Thursdays, creates food boxes, puts on healthy cookery classes and also has an emergency foodbank.

It also holds sessions that focus on holistic forms of physical and mental wellbeing.

Last month, the MRC opened a Crisis Cafe, where those struggling with their mental health can go for help.

The cafe is run in tandem with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Groups and Voluntary Action LeicesterShire.

Paul Fagan is the manager at MRC and proud of its community offering, especially the social supermarket.

He said: "The reason why we started the supermarket scheme, is we weren't looking at a massive cost of living crisis then, we were just looking at getting people into the building post-covid.

"The social supermarket model, we do it well.

Paul Fagan, General Manager at the MRC. Photo: Coalville Nub News

"We do a very different process with the food poverty side of things. We don't use the P word anywhere in it.

"We've got more people coming recently because of the cost of living crisis, but we strive to avoid the poverty stigma.

"Our supermarket is open to all, across all demographics.

"One of the early wins was when we had someone who was impeccably dressed explaining what you do with a celeriac; people give advice and swap recipes with each other."

Paul has developed the centre's relationship with Oakland food distribution at Bardon, which began with receiving their excess veg, but has blossomed into something bigger.

He added: "Oakland are now funding a fortnightly cooking event as part of HAF (Holiday Activities and Food programme),

"On Thursdays, we'll be doing eight pop-up kitchens events, where four families will be cooking against each other.

"One side will be plant-based, one side will be cooking meat.

"Then they'll switch over. And then, at the end, we all eat together."