Social Supermarkets in the UK: Consumer Preferences and Manager Perspectives on Alternative Models

Social supermarkets (SSMs) provide food-insecure shoppers with a more dignified experience than food banks by charging a low price for (mostly surplus) food sold in a supermarket setting, and then often providing further social support. The extent and variety of SSMs in the UK is under-researched, but it’s known that their models can differ widely. The aims of this study were to assess the popularity and practicality of different SSM models in the UK via (1) identifying consumers’ preferred model characteristics. and (2) identifying key themes guiding existing SSM model practices. A choice experiment-based survey was conducted to collect data from 442 UK consumers. The average consumer was found to prefer SSM with the following characteristics: 80% discount on RRP, a good food range, food surplus as the main source of the food sold in the SSM, social support provision, and restricted access (i.e., only people in need are eligible).