Shop & Donate started in the living room of Danny Barnes, pictured here in the Westminster store with television presenter and journalist James May who was volunteering there

MEET the man who has taken it upon himself to tackle food waste and poverty with his social supermarket.

Shop & Donate chief executive Danny Barnes created the supermarket during the Covid-19 lockdown and has been fulfilling his dream of helping those in need ever since.

He said: “The cost-of-living crisis is going to be here for some time and rather than going to a normal supermarket they can come here, get the same quality but for more than half the price.”

The shop offers a variety of goods such as fresh vegetables, freezer produce, beauty products, snacks, suitcases, children’s toys, dog toys, and cooking classes.

Before finding its Westminster home, Shop & Donate started from Mr Barnes’s living room where he would pack and deliver boxes of food to hospitals around the city.

After delivering to hospitals Mr Barnes began distributing food to care homes, food banks, and 7,000 low-wage workers affected by the Brexit referendum.

When it came to turning his food service into a social supermarket Mr Barnes took inspiration from the Yorkshire-based Company Shop’s model while adding onto it with a garden working space, a community hub, and a healthy-eating course.

Such expansion was no easy-feat for Mr Barnes as he had to fund-raise more than £100,000 to afford the space, in the heart of Strutton Ground, Westminster.

He added: “It’s a big project but from where we started we’ve come so far. We’ve got about a year until we become a well-oiled machine but I was put on this planet to help people and that’s what I’m doing here.”

According to Mr Barnes the most rewarding part of his job is when the deliveries arrive on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays because that’s when he can start working to get the products to as many people as the shop can.

Outside of the company, Mr Barnes has delivered 13 government contracts which put 8,000 young people in work experience.

This was a full-circle moment for Mr Barnes as he was providing opportunities for the youth that he never had which led him to join gangs instead.

When asked about the response to Shop & Donate, he said: “It’s almost like everybody in here was waiting for a shop like this.”

Westminster – particularly the Strutton Ground location south of Victoria Street – has a reputation for being wealthy despite having the second highest poverty rate in the capital.

Mr Barnes added: “You’ve got the homeless living next door to the king, the king living next door to the PM, and the PM living next to the drunks.

“We’re here to help the people the élite won’t.”

When asked about how his friends or family would describe him, he answered: “Very hyperactive, very ambitious, and a bit stubborn.

“If I set my eyes on something I don’t give up till I get it and if it doesn’t work out, I get back up, dust myself off, and try again.”

While the shop has come a long way since its inception, Mr Barnes still has big plans for Shop & Donate including opening more outlets, recruiting volunteers again, expanding the co-working space, and receiving even more community engagement.

So how does he measure success?

He says: “Everything you do, you have to kind of measure every single thing, so there’s not just one single thing, anything you do, always do better.”