Wisbech team help supermarkets support community health and well-being with research project

A mini supermarket on Wisbech Market Place, more distribution of surplus food to those in need and more support for local community groups.

Those were some of the wishes placed on supermarkets following a unique piece of research carried out in the town as part of a national project.

A small team of volunteers from Wisbech has been helping shape the kind of support supermarkets could offer communities across the country since being appointed at the start of the year.

Caroline Lee from the Institute for Sustainability Leadership at Cambridge University (CISL), Susan Coan a research specialist from Leeds Beckett University and two of her colleagues recruited the group to look at what support supermarkets could be providing in the town and the reality of what is being done.

The aim was to find out how supermarkets can support community health and wellbeing and to find out what they are doing right and what they could do to improve that help.

As part of the project, which although independent is supported by Asda, the team of seven volunteer researchers undertook interviews and a focus workshop to find out what people on the ground think.

Caroline explained she had chosen Wisbech because it is an area that experienced a lot of hardship over the last 10 years and a similar area in Leeds was also chosen for the same research.

The team: Alexia Franklin, Arturas Lip, Bailey Jenner, Erbie Murat, Guna Liepina, Jack Andrassy and Nicola Knowles have been busy collating responses and found that community and people were the two things that mattered the most with those responding wanting to ensure "no one was left behind".

Overall the consensus was that opportunities were lacking in Wisbech, especially for employment - with what was available described as low paid with high competition for it.

Young people and a lack of facilities for them with the loss of youth groups, the youth club, the youth council and the youth magazine all being raised and participants wanted to see more provision.

A lack of decent housing particularly new social housing was highlighted and the number of empty buildings around the town were discussed with the idea they could be used to provide homes.

Wisbech town centre was generally viewed negatively.

Participants talked about the loss of shops, places to eat and other businesses plus there was a general feeling of being less safe there now.

Other problems highlighted included litter, graffiti, excess traffic, dangerous use of scooters/bikes and anti-social behaviour.

Susan said: "The researchers were given training sessions to help them learn how to conduct interviews and find out relevant information and they have put it to good use to come up with the findings they have.

"It is important to understand how the community views their town and what they want to see to improve it because that can help shape the response from supermarkets."

Caroline added: "Supermarkets are in the community, they are offering support and most do have a community champion who is working with local people to provide support.

"What we wanted to understand is what the support they are offering actually looks like on the ground and what difference it actually makes to the community.

"The problem is consistency, in some areas supermarkets are doing a fantastic job and are really helping communities, in others what is thought is being provided is perhaps not, or is not as helpful as it could be. This is not helped by when there is a change in who is in the the role of community champion - some places can see a lot of change.

"There can also be a barrier if that community champions are not able to make decisions and have to defer further up the management chain.

"Supermarkets can offer support, space for community groups, goods donations, as well as developing networks to connect the community to funding opportunities."

The group of seven were recruited through social media and they wanted to know how Wisbech has changed in the last 10 years both for good and bad.

Their findings were mixed for instance some felt the influx of people making the community more diverse was a positive achievement whereas others felt the town had lost its sense of identity as a result.

The NHS and problems with GPs and dentists were highlighted during the research as was the loss of some events particularly the Rose Fair.

One of the most important questions was whether participants were aware of supermarkets doing anything to support communities. Most were aware, but did not specify what that work was.

The most common suggestion on how supermarkets could support the community was to reduce the price of fruit and vegetables and other essential items.

Cutting food waste, keeping prices down in general, offering pop-up supermarkets in villages, having quiet time shopping for those with anxiety, offer a creche and provide support to travel to stores such as sponsoring buses were all suggested as ways these companies could help.

When it came to supporting the community researchers found most wanted supermarkets to donate surplus food - especially fruit and veg - to those in need. Donation of other products such as microwaves was also suggested.

Opening a store on the Market Place was also something people would like to see as well as the offer of £100 grants for volunteer groups and to allow their community champions to buddy up with people in the community who have connections to other groups and organisations and to work together for change.

Better publicity of the work already being done was also suggested although there was some scepticism about how much supermarkets can actually help the community as their priority is about making profit.

Caroline said the Wisbech findings together with those from Leeds and elsewhere will be presented to supermarkets in the next few months.

She said: "The hope is supermarkets will take on board what people are saying and will act accordingly. They are in such a great position to help the communities they serve, but eventually it is up to them to decide how much they want to do, and what they do about it."

On Wednesday (26) both Caroline and Susan were in Wisbech to meet with the volunteers to discuss their findings and to hand out certificates in recognition of the work they have done.