City supermarket promises ‘feel good’ fruit and veg
Demand is growing for a city ‘social supermarket’, with thousands of kilograms of fruit and veg rolling out the door as the cost-of-living crisis squeezes South Australians.
There are more South Australians coming through the doors of a city ‘social supermarket’ than ever before, as the cost of living takes its toll on Adelaide families.
Ari Kolovos started working as Food Hub Coordinator at the BaptistCare Social Supermarket earlier this year, having spent more than a decade working at and managing supermarkets across South Australia.
“[I] just wanted a change of perspective,” says Ari, who previously worked across South Australia’s supermarkets, including as an assistant store manager at Coles, before joining BaptistCare in March.
“You can help people every day here; you can make a difference.
“Being able to get things from my networks, to be able to benefit the people that come on site, is really important.”
Tthe Social Supermarket allows all concession card, student card and ImmiCard holders to buy high-quality groceries and other essentials, with an aim to keep costs as low as possible.
Customers are entitled to two kilograms of fruit and vegetables, as well as unlimited amounts of bread, for free with each purchase.
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The Food Hub operates out of BaptistCare’s WestCare Centre, which offers overnight shelter during extreme weather events, programs targeting social isolation and a free community kitchen for more than 250 people a year.
It is part of 13 health services and 20 social and community services at the Wright St centre, including programs targeted at addressing social isolation
BaptistCare Inner City Services and WestCare Centre manager Stefano Tocci says that the Food Hub is part of a holistic approach to addressing health and wellbeing, with food also servicing the WestCare centre, which provides 50,000 free meals a year.
“We see anybody that’s struggling, whether it’s in the food insecurity side of things or the homelessness bit where we’re trying to get them obviously housed,” Stefano says.
“We service people who really fall through the cracks at the end of the day, who are not just picked up through mainstream services. So I think from that point of view, we want to be relevant.”
Ari’s time as Food Hub Coordinator has coincided with a rise in the number of daily customers, while the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables distributed per month has doubled to more than 2000 kilograms.
While he attributes some of the rise in demand to the cost of living, most of the growth has been due to a rise in produce quality and customers wanting a social connection.
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“We want to provide a dignified space where people can come in and shop,” Ari says.
“Some of the clients we serve, if they were to walk into a Coles or Woolies, they might feel a bit on edge, but in our store, everyone’s welcome.
“We’re not just presenting them with a food hamper and sending them on their way; we’re giving them a space where they can come in and choose all that kind of stuff.
“If there’s an opportunity for them to come in and have a chat for five minutes, it might mean nothing to me but might mean the world to them.”
With the cost of living on the rise, the Food Hub has been helping people by assisting customers and volunteers in finding work.
“If we can provide an offering that’s affordable and makes people get by, that’s really important,” Ari says.
“We have people who don’t have the skills to get a full-time job, [but] then come into the Food Hub, learn the registers, learn basic communication skills, learn point-of-sale skills and then transition that into paid work in another field,” Ari says.
“We’re also helping people who want to give up their time and volunteer to then be able to transition into paid work as well – it’s that holistic approach.”
It has also given Ari a job that “makes [you] feel good,” even if the job is about more than that.
“When you come into a place where everyone – staff, volunteers, students – are all connected and they’re all on the same page to help our community, it’s an incredible place to work,” Ari says.
“It’s great to be able to have that connection with people and help people every day.”
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