- McCain led funding enables Community Shop Eastfield to provide essential support to local families
- Over 7,300 local residents supported so far with essential food aid, with 1,600 participants gaining new skills through community-led courses
- McCain deepens community roots with new shop opening in North Bransholme, Hull
(November 19 2025), UK - Today, McCain Foods, the UK’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, and social enterprise, Community Shop, celebrate the second anniversary of the Community Shop Eastfield.
The North Yorkshire shop is fully funded by McCain through product donations which have reached a total value of over £2.3 million since its opening in 2023.
The Eastfield store provides local residents with access to high-quality, surplus food and household goods at significantly reduced prices. These items would otherwise have gone to waste – turning potential food loss into vital community support. The store also houses a Community Kitchen, offering low-cost wholesome hot meals, with children eating for free every day.
Revenue raised in the store is re-invested back into the local area through the store’s Community Hub, which offers personal development programmes tailored to the needs of each member. These programmes range from cookery clubs and home budgeting classes, to interview skills and business courses.
Since its opening, Community Shop has made a significant impact:
- Over 1,600 community members have engaged with the Community Hub
- Over 5,900 hub courses and cookery clubs have been completed by members
- The store has supported over 7,300 people in the community
- Members have saved over £1.8 million on their shopping
- Community Kitchen has served over 20,000 free kids’ meals
As McCain celebrates the two-year anniversary of the Eastfield shop, the company is also marking another important milestone with the strengthening of its Community Shop partnership through the opening of a new store in Hull, which opens on 11th December. The new branch in North Bransholme will feature a Community Hub and a Community Kitchen, including a café serving home-cooked meals where children can eat for free every day. The initiative is set to create 12 new jobs for local people.
Beyond its work with Community Shop, McCain actively supports communities through several impactful initiatives, including donating over 3 million meals to FareShare since 2013.
Jillian Moffatt, Regional President GB&I at McCain, added: “McCain has called Eastfield home for over 50 years, and it’s a privilege to support an initiative like Community Shop that in only 2 years has helped over 7,300 people, served more than 20,000 free kids’ meals, and saved the community over £1.8 million. The impact of the store, hub, and kitchen speaks volumes, and we’re delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Community Shop through the opening of the new store in Hull next month.”
Gary Stott, Executive Chairman at Community Shop, commented: “McCain’s support for Community Shop Eastfield is helping make a significant positive difference to local people and the wider community. Its continued commitment to provide surplus products means we’re also able to bring a new Community Shop to North Bransholme, and extend the support we offer through our Store, Hub and Kitchen, helping people to develop their own capabilities and deliver a positive future for themselves.”
The store is located at Community Shop Eastfield, Eastfield Community Centre, High Street, Scarborough, YO11 3LJ and is open from 09:00 to 16:45 weekdays, from 09:00 to 14:45 on Saturday and is closed on Sunday.
Community Shop North Bransholme is located at Community Centre, Lothian Way, Hull, HU7 5DD and is open 09:00-17:00 weekdays, 09:00-15:00 on Saturday and is closed on Sunday.
To find out more, visit www.companyshopgroup.co.uk/communityshop.
ENDS.
Contact
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About McCain
McCain Foods is the UK’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, employing over 1,400 people across four processing facilities and a dedicated seed potato business. We are the largest purchaser of the British potato crop, buying around 20% of the total market from 250 farmers, some of whom have worked with us for three generations.
About Company Shop Group
Community Shop is an award-winning social enterprise and the UK's first social supermarket, which aims to tackle the root causes of food insecurity in communities as a result of social inequality. With three interconnecting spaces within one building, Community Store provides access to deeply discounted food and essentials, including fruit, veg and bread for only 20p. The profits from the store are then invested in Community Hub, which delivers a life-changing holistic support programme, empowering people to develop their own capabilities and deliver a positive future for themselves. Additionally, each Community Shop has a Community Kitchen, a café that enable people to connect with others and learn through food, as well as providing home-cooked meals for the community with kids eating free every day. Community Shop is part of Company Shop Group, the UK leading and longest-standing redistributor and retailer of surplus products. The unique model uses surplus products donated by its stock partners through Company Shop Group, ensuring that no product needlessly goes to waste, whilst simultaneously providing a sustainable support model for thousands of families each year.