Birkenhead's Number 7 community cafe and supermarket expands

Since opening its doors in 2018, as the first such project in the national Feeding Britain network, Number Seven - situated on Princes Pavement in Birkenhead - has built a membership of more than 1,500 households who regularly access affordable food in its citizens' supermarket and community cafe.

The community café and supermarket was officially opened in January 2018 by Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Visitors can get advice on matters such as employment, benefits and domestic abuse.

The premises have now been expanded, occupying a former shop next door. The expansion was marked with an official launch on Friday afternoon.

Andrew Forsey - who launched Number Seven in 2018 along with Frank Field, the town's MP at the time - told the Globe: "Number Seven has set an example for the rest of the country to follow, in respect of trying to help people stretch their budgets further during tough times and without having to rely on the food bank.

"I remember when Number Seven opened its doors four and half years ago, we thought maybe, at its peak, it could serve a membership of 500 households - we've just hit the 1,500 mark.

Inside Number Seven following launch of the expanded facility on Friday afternoon (Image: Craig Manning / Newsquest)

"I think that speaks for the level of need across Wirral, but also the high quality of service that people can expect here and just how important is has become to many people's coping strategies."

Feeding Britain now supports a network of 260 affordable food hubs across the UK, including social supermarkets and pantries, serving a total membership of around 50,000 households.

Andrew added: "A decent chunk of those attending the food hub would have been reliant on foodbanks if this service was not available.

"What we're also trying to ensure is that when people visit the hub, they get the right advice on benefits, debt, housing and other issues that might be leaving them short of money and in a few weeks we're going to enable them to enroll at a local credit union, so they can start saving money while coming to do their shopping.

"I can't see the need for these sorts of projects disappearing anytime soon, I'm afraid"

Special guests outside Number Seven in Birkenhead following the launch of the expanded Number Seven on Friday afternoon (Image: Craig Manning / Newsquest)

Also attending Friday's formal launch was Baroness Rosie Boycott - chair of Feeding Britain and former editor of The Independent on Sunday, The Independent and The Daily Express.

She said: "This was our first food hub done on the Feeding Britain Model. I ran the London Food Board and we started a social supermarket in South London in about 2011.

"Andrew and Frank then picked up the idea and have really taken it from being one isolated thing to what we now have in Birkenhead.

"There are 260 Feeding Britain towns in 72 areas. They really try to get to get people back on their feet.

"It's more than a hand-out, it's a real hand-up; you can find people to talk to who can help with whatever it is that's causing you problems at that time.

"The food situation is very serious, not just from the point of view of inflation, but also trying to get people healthy food.

"It is absolutely not an issue that's going to end overnight."

Among those attending the launch was Jacquie. She said: "It's a nice place to socialise, good service, reasonable food.

"The facilities and staff are wonderful. It's a great addition to the town and a real asset."

Special guests outside Number Seven in Birkenhead following the launch of the expanded Number Seven on Friday afternoon (Image: Craig Manning / Newsquest)

Mayor Jeff Green was also there. He said: "I met colleagues from Feeding Britain some time ago and they had some quite novel ideas on how to help people with the issues they are facing.

"Frank Field was a key driver in this. Like most things with Frank, it's novel, interesting and balanced in terms of what it is trying to achieve. It is an incredibly helpful service.

"It is incredibly fantastic to see people who are so community-minded, working with supermarkets in the area to make sure surplus food is available for people."