Latest News
Holbeck Foods, a social enterprise in the centre of Holbeck, has been welcomed by residents in the area since it opened for trading before Christmas.
The business supplies fresh fruit and vegetables to the local community, giving people a convenience shop on their doorstep for the first time since the closure of Kwik Save in 2007.
The board of directors behind Holbeck Foods is committed to supporting projects which provide a service to people living in the area and in March 2009 Sarah Gamage, 25, from Holbeck, joined the board in an advisory role.
Seven months later she started running the company’s first shop, which aims to carry as much locally sourced food as possible, with a team of volunteers behind her, the support of Leeds City Council and additional sponsors Grassroots Grants Fund and Kilo 75.
Holbeck Foods was launched by Lee Griffiths who originally set up the social enterprise after graduating from Leeds Metropolitan University but moved on from the business in October 2009. Sarah had the passion to get behind the project and has been instrumental in pushing the business to get off the ground.
Local business, Out of the Woods based in Holbeck Urban Village, provided refreshments for the shop opening. The Holbeck Foods shop is ideally placed to serve the local neighbourhood, including those in the growing urban village, from their premises on Recreation Street.
Sarah Gamage commented: “It’s a truly exciting time for Holbeck Foods. We have had a great response from the local community who have been waiting to be able to shop locally for a really long time and we already have a growing number of regulars shopping with us.
Plans don’t stop here though, over the next year we want to be able to expand to sell other products, start a delivery service and above all, ensure that the venture becomes a sustainable business.”
