A new community supermarket offering access to affordable and healthy food has opened in a Kent shopping centre, providing not only discounted groceries but also wraparound support services to help visitors with employment, budgeting and financial wellbeing.
The store operated by SEK Community Food Shop has begun trading on the first floor of The Pentagon Centre in Chatham, located at Units 66 and 67, Pentagon Shopping Centre, Military Road, Chatham, ME4 4HY.
Gina English from SEK explained the breadth of support available:
In addition to supporting people with food insecurity, people will also be able get wraparound support from us, help with employment, looking at CVs and interview skills. We're also going to help people with budgeting and money management and signposting to other local services.The organisation further indicated that the Chatham shop would offer support with household finances, employment, wellbeing, digital skills and local services.
Initial funding to establish the supermarket came from Medway Council through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, which is a UK-government-funded scheme running from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029, replacing the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments. The council allocated £4.59 million to the fund as part of its 2026/27 plan, with the community supermarket initiative intended as an alternative to food banks and to encourage financial independence.
How does the store keep prices low?
Shoppers can enter the social supermarket without prior booking to access budget-friendly groceries, including a £1 fruit and vegetable bag. Costs remain low because the store redistributes surplus food to reduce waste, simultaneously helping to protect the environment.
SEK already operates two similar stores elsewhere in Kent. English noted the track record of these existing locations:
We've had Ramsgate for about three years, Ashford just for just over a year and across the two shops in the last year alone we saw 55,500 transactions and we were able to save 170 tonnes of perfectly good food from going to waste, so they do work.
What are early customers saying?
Among the first to visit the newly opened store were Shirley Graves and her partner Rod Taffs, who quickly filled their basket with discounted items. Graves expressed enthusiasm about the offering:
People want to come down and see what they've got, it's amazing.She highlighted specific bargains she had found:
I've got a box of 20 samosas for £1.50 and a big huge bag of chicken for £6. Times are quite tight at the moment, being pensioners, it's cheap and the chicken is amazing.Taffs added:
That's going to do us three or four meals.
What support is available beyond shopping?
The shop includes a confidential, soundproofed office pod at the back of the store where customers can seek personal advice and guidance on a range of matters affecting their financial and personal circumstances.
Medway Council leader Vince Maple endorsed the initiative, saying:
I think most people across Kent and Medway would want to see food not going to waste, so the ability to have good quality food at a reasonable price, helping not just our families and individuals on low incomes but helping all families has got to be a good thing.
How can people get involved?
The SEK Community Food Shop in The Pentagon Centre is open Monday to Saturday between 10:00 and 18:00. Those interested in volunteering can contact Zoe Young at z.young@sekgroup.org.uk or 07311 821396.
Key facts
- The Chatham store is the third location operated by SEK Community Food Shop, following openings in Ramsgate (three years) and Ashford (just over one year)
- In the past year alone, the two existing stores processed 55,500 transactions and diverted 170 tonnes of food from waste
- Funding came from Medway Council's Crisis and Resilience Fund, a government scheme running until 31 March 2029
- The store offers wraparound support including employment help, budgeting advice, digital skills training and signposting to local services
- Opening hours are Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 18:00
