Meanwood and Chapel Allerton
fruit, vegetables, cans and freezers in a shop

InterACT Pantry Meanwood

InterACT Pantry Meanwood is a membership food club with a store at Meanwood Community Centre, offering local people the support of a reliable and good quality food resource at minimal cost.

It is run by volunteers supported by the InterACT staff team. It offers local residents work experience opportunities, assisting with future employment, and is a hub for local people to come together.

InterACT Pantry Meanwood is part of the Your Local Pantry network

Sign showing opening times Monday 2.00pm-4.00pm and 6-8pm and Tuesdays 9am to 11am

Frequently asked questions

The Pantry differs from food banks in the fact that it isn’t a crisis food provision. The Pantry is a community food club, run by and for its members where people pay to join and in return can choose a minimum of 10 items worth around five times what they pay.

All of the items in the Pantry are categorised by colour to ensure that we make best use of the stock we have. For example, it wouldn’t be very fair if one member took 10 jars of coffee leaving none for anyone else! The way we categorise items is based on a mixture of retail price, volume, “use by” / “best before” dates and how popular the stock is with Pantry members.

The standard Pantry cost is £3.50. If you have a larger household (that is, three or more people age 16+ or four or more children) you are entitled to a PLUS membership. PLUS members can choose to pay £5 when they shop and take home more goods. Whichever type of membership you have, you will normally take home goods at least 5 times in value what you’ve paid.

Anyone within a 20 minute walking distance of Meanwood Community Centre (defined using Google maps) can become a member. However, we prioritise those who are currently experiencing financial difficulties, and if that doesn’t apply to you, you may occasionally be asked to pause membership to make space for someone else. At the moment, we have a maximum membership of 100 people.

If you would like to support the Pantry and don’t want to become a member, please consider becoming a Friend of the Pantry. That way, you can help us keep our stocks full and fresh, helping us stick to our ethos of Choice, Dignity and Hope!
Use our donation page to give, and make sure you reference Pantry during your bank transfer or by emailing pantry@interact.uk.net. Then we’ll know to ringfence your money for the Pantry only.

One of the main suppliers to the Your Local Pantry chain is the national food redistribution charity FareShare. FareShare redistributes surplus stock from supermarkets and food manufacturers to other charities and community groups. Not only are they helping to provide hungry people with food but also helping to decrease the amount of food that is needlessly sent to landfill each year.

The nature of this supplier means that it can be a bit unpredictable. One week we might have pizzas and ready meals the next could be goat’s cheese and aubergines!

To ensure that essential staples are always available the Pantry reinvests all of its member’s subscriptions to buying stock. The Pantry uses local businesses to supply its fruit and vegetables and milk, ensuring members are able to access these staple goods as part of their weekly shop.

The Pantry stocks all the usual store cupboard favourites like cereal, cans, pasta, and also toiletries and cleaning products, as well as fresh, chilled and frozen produce.

The Pantry will never stock food past its use by date as this could be harmful to health and against the law.

The Pantry will, from time-to-time, stock items that are passed their “best before” date. Best before dates are about quality, not safety. When the date is passed, it doesn’t mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour or texture.

Every year in the UK we thrown away 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink, most of which could have been eaten.

Become a Friend of
InterACT Pantry Meanwood

Now and again, we need to top-up supplies of fresh, frozen or seasonal food. If you become a regular friend of InterACT Pantry Meanwood, you’ll help change lives.

Just let us know you want your donation to go to the Pantry by referencing “pantry” when you donate or by emailing pantry@interact.uk.net. We’ll make sure your money is ringfenced for this purpose only.

Want to become a member?

Want to become a member?