Successful six months for groundbreaking community project

The project featuring a community shop and social enterprise café at the historic Queens Building in Wolverhampton City Centre has enjoyed a successful first six months of operations.

The Good Shepherd, Wolves Foundation and Wolverhampton Council teamed up to deliver the Central Community Shop, the flagship store of a network across the city, offering food at affordable prices for residents of Wolverhampton.

In addition, and with thanks to funding from national charity SJOG Hospitaller Services, the Pomegranate Café has also been operating in the building, offering a wide variety of refreshments including high quality coffee and home-made snacks and lunches.

Within the first six months of operation, more than 200 residents of Wolverhampton have paid the annual membership fee of £3 to register for the Central Community Shop, whilst it has been supported by other organisations, including Wolves at Work, who are distributing vouchers to their service users for the shop instead of bigger supermarkets.

In addition, fresh produce grown by Wolves Foundation’s Head 4 Health participants at their allotment has also been donated to the community shop, again highlighting the value of the partnership.

Pomegranate has also grown from strength to strength, providing a comfortable setting not just for people popping in for a coffee, snack or lunch, but also as a meeting venue, with the benefit of free Wi-fi as part of an initiative from the Council.

Staff have also delivered outside catering at an event organised by the Council, and there are plans to expand the programme of events and openings to include pizza making sessions during the school summer holidays and additional weekend opening to coincide with Wolves’ home matches and other events taking place in the City Centre.

Pomegranate was also handed a 5* rating in its first Food Hygiene Inspection whilst all proceeds from the café are invested back into the Good Shepherd’s free-to-access food and support services and other charitable activities.

Lucie Tait-Harris, the Good Shepherd’s Project Manager for Pomegranate and the Central Community Shop, said: “We are really pleased with how the last six months have gone, and the many different ways the Queen’s Building project has benefitted the local community.

“The shop has proved extremely popular and is continuing to attract new members, whilst the freshly cooked food prepared at the Pomegranate is also helping us build our reputation and increase the number of customers.

“There is still more work to be done, and we are looking forward to getting involved in more events around the city centre as we would love even more people to come along and give us a try.”

Staff from the Council have also been among the regular visitors to Pomegranate, and the Local Authority are pleased with how the Queen’s Building project is progressing.

Leader of the council, Councillor Stephen Simkins, urged those who haven’t yet visited the Queen’s to give it a try.

He said: “This is such a great initiative with great quality food on offer in the shop and café and at great prices.

“It really is worth a visit and is a lovely building in its own right, so a great place to pick up some shopping or grab a drink in a lovely environment.

“It’s encouraging that so many people have already become members and I know the café menu is changing all the time with new things to try, but for it to continue to flourish we need city residents to support it and keep using this wonderful enterprise.

"Why not drop by this week and see what’s on offer.”

For Wolves Foundation, their support and involvement in Queen’s is part of their wide-ranging ‘Supporting Our Pack’ campaign, various packages of advice and practical assistance to help people through the cost-of-living and other challenges affecting their daily lives.

Tom Warren, senior manager with Wolves Foundation, said: “We remain delighted to have linked up with the Good Shepherd and the City of Wolverhampton Council on such an important partnership at the Queen’s Building, supporting people from across the city.

“One of our Senior Health Officers, Ollie Locker, has been among the key figures at the shop, spending part of his week based there supporting the project and helping to increase the number of registrations.

“It has also been great to see a crossover between some of the Foundation activities, with the Head 4 Health allotment providing fresh produce for the shop, and we are looking forward to seeing the project continuing to progress and develop over the coming months.”

Situated in Victoria Square next to the city’s Bus Station, the Central Community Shop is open from 10am-2pm from Tuesdays to Thursdays, and the Pomegranate Café from 8am-2.30pm, Tuesdays to Fridays.