Brixton's People's Kitchen given 12 weeks to relocate

A woman approaches the till with a trolley full of 15 items, handing over pasta, laundry powder, bananas and cornflakes to be scanned. The grand total? Just £5.

At the Brixton People’s Kitchen (BPK), a non-for-profit community shop, the goal is not to make money, but for no one to leave empty handed.

Since opening in 2019, BPK has helped over 340 households in a deprived area of North Lambeth to do their weekly shop.

But now the social enterprise is facing a major challenge – to relocate in just 12 weeks time.

The team say they must find a new home after their landlord, the Black Prince Trust, refused the financial offer they made to stay on the premises.

According to the BPK an undisclosed commercial venture will take over the lease from July 15, despite their attempts to negotiate for an extension until September.

The Trust said the pandemic had taken its toll on its finances, and sustaining the shop was no longer “viable.”

However, for the BPK workers the move is a “devastating blow” to the community, particularly after Lambeth saw a 137% increase in food bank usage in 2020.

Georgia Wright the store manager at Brixton People's Kitchen

“The work we do permeates throughout the community and it’s truly devastating to be leaving,” said Store Manager Georgia Wright.

“But it’s not about us, it’s about every single person on the estate. We’ve spent a year building relationships in the community through food, we know their names, their birthdays, what they like to eat. We provide culturally appropriate food, like okra, mango and plantains.”

“I don’t think the landlords are thinking about the lasting effects on the community if we go.”

Customers can come from Lambeth and beyond to purchase food from the store, get free meals or children’s packed lunches in school holidays.

Most of BPK’s produce is bought wholesale or is surplus food donated by supermarkets with minimal markup.

Brixton People's Kitchen takes wholesale, suprlus and donated food

Usually, customers pay £5 for 15 items – which comes in at roughly 80p per item, far cheaper than a regular supermarket shop. Around 15 free shops a week are reserved for households particularly struggling.

Jaydan McKenzie has used the the store on a weekly basis for the past two years. She provides for her daughter, Blondell, who suffers from sickle cell disease, and her 12 grandchildren.

“I know my grandkids need milk and cereal, so I always get that, and also enough food for my neighbour,” said the 56-year-old.

“The store’s helped me a whole lot. And when I say a whole lot, I mean a whole lot. I don’t know what we would do if it closed, we need to know if there’s somewhere else we can go.”

Jayden McKenzie a customer at Brixton People's Kitchen

A petition to save the community shop has launched, but BPK staff have mostly accepted their fate.

“We really only two options,” said Georgia.

“One, we move somewhere local to here and hope that our customers remain loyal, or two, we move further out and start from scratch. While that’s fine for us, what happens to the people we’ve spent a year getting to know?”

In a statement the Black Prince Trust said it was with regret they could no longer support the community shop.

“Over the past two and a half years’ the Black Prince Trust has supported the Brixton People’s Kitchen and have enjoyed a very positive relationship with the team.

“We have been very happy to work with the Brixton People’s Kitchen team and have subsidised them through free rent for a prolonged period, and more recently reduced rent, as well as an investment in facilities to deliver their services.”

The Trust said they had been impacted by Covid-19 in “a very significant way” as they had lost rental incomes and tenants from running a partially open site.

“We have lost between 50%-80% of our income and are currently running at a loss, and eating into our reserves. Despite this, we have continued to support the Brixton People’s Kitchen through this time.

“In order to continue to maintain the viability of our community hub and its operations into the future, it is with deep regret that we are no longer able to sustain our support of Brixton People’s Kitchen in their current facility.”

The Trust added that their new partner will maintain important community services in Lambeth.

Brixton People's Kitchen: 5 Beaufoy Walk, off Black Prince Road, London, SE11 6AA