| Genre | Supermarket |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Website | http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org |
Set up in May 2010 by Arthur Potts Dawson, Kate Wickes-Bull, David Barrie and a team of supporters and professional advisors, the People's Supermarket is a food cooperative with 1000 members that seeks to provide the local community with good cheap food that's fair to consumers and producers. The People's Supermarket is located in Lamb's Conduit Street, Holborn, London near to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Based upon the concept of the food co-operative and inspired in part by the Park Slope Food Coop in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, members of the social enterprise are required to pay a £25 annual fee and contribute 4 hours of their time every 4 weeks to working in the store. In return, members receive a 10%+ discount off their shopping in-store.
The People's Supermarket was visited by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron on Monday 14 February 2011[1] immediately prior to his speech relaunching his flagship Big Society initiative and the creation of the Big Society Bank at Somerset House in central London[2].
Contents |
| The People's Supermarket | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 48 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original run | 6 February 2011 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The People's Supermarket is a Channel 4 documentary series which follows Chef and eco-restauranteur Arthur Potts Dawson journey to launch a supermarket that is owned by its customers in order to compete with the UK's Big 4 Supermarkets[3]. The show features the shop's founding members and local residents which include Goldsmith Jocelyn Burton. The first series launched on the 6th February 2011 for a 4 episode run. The series is set to conclude on the 27th February 2011.
The People's Supermarket has also featured on BBC Radio 4, airing on the 15th July 2010 on the You and Yours programme[4].
| Episode | First Aired | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday 6 February 2011 | Arthur tries to get his big idea started, but worries that a big name supermarket will grab the premises he's got his eye on. |
| 2 | Sunday 13 February 2011 | Arthur comes up with a guerrilla-style marketing campaign to persuade shoppers from nearby Sainsbury's to switch. |
| 3 | Sunday 20 February 2011 | Arthur is struggling to keep the supermarket afloat. He decides to open a kitchen. But will people eat food destined for the bin? |
| 4 | Sunday 27 February 2011 | The supermarket faces closure and Arthur's dream of a not-for-profit shop that is run for and by the people may well be over. It's time for him to take his biggest risk so far. Prime Minister, David Cameron visits the supermarket to discuss the concept and the progress being made with Arthur prior to his speech relaunching his flagship Big Society initiative. The show ends with Arthur hopeful of a grant from the Big Society Bank once it is running in June 2011. |