After years of preparation, a local group of campaigners have spent the last few months labouring away to create a Package Free Larder in a beautiful space on Elm Grove, funded by over a thousand people donating to the project on Crowdfunder.
The Package Free Larder opened its doors today, Saturday 11 July 2020, as a not-for-profit, affordable ‘zero-waste’ shop, allowing customers to bring and refill their own containers with grocery staples to reduce their plastic waste, protect the environment, and work towards a cleaner Portsmouth.
The official opening took place this afternoon with city MP and project backer, Stephen Morgan MP.
A committee of 9 local volunteers behind the project collectively said:
“This shop is the definition of community love and solidarity and we couldn’t be more proud of everyone that has helped us get to this point. Built for Portsmouth, by Portsmouth.
Thank you for believing in us. Now let’s make some waves and say NO to single-use plastic, NO to rubbish on our beaches and NO to unnecessary waste”.
Stephen Morgan, Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South speaking at the event said:
“During lockdown we all heard the birds sing louder, enjoyed seeing the sea clearer and were relieved to be breathing cleaner air. It was a reminder of how precious our environment is, and how through collective action, we can make a big difference in our communities.
As our city and country gets on the road to recovery, we must build back greener, fairer and stronger. The Package Free Larder is a shining example of that in action – the community coming together to give something back and help protect our planet.
My huge thanks to Delphine as founder, the dedicated team behind the initiative, all the volunteers who helped and nearly 1,000 local people who donated to make the big dream of a Package Free Larder for Portsmouth a reality. You’ve all done our city proud. With the challenges our city and country now face your efforts are more important than ever”.
A Click and Collect system went live on the website on 8 July, 3 days prior to the official store opening where customers can now visit the shop to collect their first orders.
