A pioneering wholefoods enterprise is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special open day later this month.
Alston Wholefoods is an ethical grocer and delicatessen offering a wide range of local, regional, organic, fair trade and eco-friendly foods, toiletries and household goods based at the town’s Market Place.
It caters for everybody, including vegans, vegetarians and those with special dietary requirements.
Run by a workers’ co-operative comprising about 15 members, the shop started out life as simply a “coming together” of like-minded Alston Moor residents.
Philip Madeley, who is living at Renwick, having moved back to England from the United States, has been involved with the cooperative for just over a year.
At first, he was just a customer, but after an opening arose, he jumped at the chance to get involved.
“It is ethical wholefoods. We focus on providing organic and natural (products) and want to support the community,” he said. “It started out as a small enterprise where they would bulk buy items and ingredients, including nuts, seeds, grains and rice.”
The group would meet on a Sunday and share a meal before everyone would then go home with their order.
“It was a coming together and then it kind of just evolved into a shop,” said Philip.
He added that a lot of the brands are small businesses – from dairies to other worker co-operatives like Glasgow Greencity Wholefoods. “It is all about supporting the worker and the community – bringing wholefoods to people,” said Philip.
For the open day, which is set to take place on Saturday, 19th August, from 10am to 4pm, there will be a gazebo erected outside the shop.
There will be live music from two of the cooperative’s members, Robin Moody and Helena Bazley, who performed at Alston Live, along with a raffle and tombola.
Long-term customer Laura Robson, of Alston, said: “The shop is really friendly and really helpful. If you show an interest in an item and say, ‘oh, I wouldn’t mind that in pink’, they would research and see if they can get that in.
“I have had stuff here that they have researched, that is not a regular item, and they have got it for me. Everything is fresh. Very clean and the best thing about the shop is the cheese counter.”
Cheese is very much a speciality of the shop, with it stocking a wide variety of local and regional cheeses, made from cows’, goats’ and ewes’ milk.
In addition to food, the shop stocks ethical household goods and locally made candles, soaps and lotions.
Alston Wholefoods opened as a social enterprise in May, 1998, in response to local demand for reasonably priced whole foods, fairly traded and organic wherever possible, with the initial capital being lent by an enthusiastic group of local people.
The shop first opened at the corner of King’s Arms Lane, before moving opposite the post office in March, 2009. It has been based in its present location since 2019 – just before the pandemic. Last month, it was visited as part of an event celebrating 10 years of Alston Moor becoming the world’s first social enterprise town.
