“Run by the people, for the people”, The People’s Supermarket, opened on Lamb’s Conduit Street in Central London in 2010. It’s inspired by the Park Slopes Food Store, founded in 1972 in Brooklyn, New York, widely regarded as one of the most successful co-operative supermarkets in the world.

The People’s Supermarket follows a similar principle. It’s run and managed by its members, each of whom has a vote on key decisions. There’s a yearly membership fee and members are expected to volunteer four hours of their time every month for a 10% reduction on their shopping bill.

It was the brainchild of Arthur Potts Dawson, the chef behind Acorn House, famous for its pioneering approach to sustainability. After a visit to Park Slopes he set about a plan to launch The People’s Supermarket. With £180,000 of funding and a whole lot of begging and borrowing, including a donated kitchen from IKEA, it opened 2 years later.

It’s a timely launch as Britain continues to slog its way through the ‘keep calm and carry on’ recession and when David Cameron is banging on about the ‘Big Society’. It represents all the ‘Good Life’ values of community and we’re-in-it-togetherness. You half expect Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal to be behind the till. Instead you find the founder, Arthur, serving warm pies to customers from his kitchen. Selling pies and selling the dream. It’s hard to argue with him, especially when confronted with the comforting aroma of freshly baked pies.

Even the space has a cheery optimism. The bright yellow identity coats everything, giving the impression of a political movement. Everything and everyone is yellow, from the fruit and veg labels and bread bags, to the noticeboard and staff t-shirts. Beyond the yellow comes the realism of a slightly faded 1950s shop with worn grey tiles. It’s a bit rough around the edges. But slickness is not what they’re after. “We’re not slick. Our t-shirts are all screen-printed by hand. If you’re too slick you don’t seem real. It’s like you’re trying to sell something”, says Andy Leach, the store manager. The lack of slickness is part intentional, part necessity. The community-authored feel of the identity works well as an open invitation for people to get involved. Throughout the shop, from the sales floor to the back office, the staff are encouraged to write messages on yellow posters and cards. It’s a contrast to the rules governing most brands. Everyone can have a go and what’s more, you don’t need to be a designer.

Sitting downstairs in the staff room there’s a strong sense of things happening, people making stuff, doing things. Making tea for each other, helping bring the flowers in from the rain, ordering stock, sorting out schedules, hanging the washed t-shirts to dry. It’s got the buzz of being backstage at a local amateur dramatics society. Everyone’s there because they want to be and judging by the happy banter, they seem to be enjoying it.

It must seem a million miles away from the atmosphere in most supermarket staff rooms. Andy talks about a “real sense of everyone pulling together, whether that’s surviving next month or doing the tea round. Because we’ve all got a stake in it, we’ve got a pride in what we’re doing”. Members from all walks of life work side by side, checking the shelves for stock levels, cleaning the floors, helping out in the kitchen. Andy says that some people just enjoy ‘playing shop’ but mainly he’s been heartened by people’s generosity and good nature.

In the hive of activity there’s a sense of everyone getting stuck in. One of the members wanted to have a Japanese day to support the victims of the tsunami. They actioned it quickly and raised money by making Japanese food and playing Japanese music all day. Another member had an idea to celebrate the Royal Wedding with ‘The People’s Wedding’ and asked couples to come into the store and have their photo taken in various weird and wonderful wedding outfits. It’s the type of thing they can do really easily, it’s lots of fun and to Andy’s point, “it’s not the sort of thing you imagine the big supermarkets doing”.

Asked to describe a typical member he says it’s a real mix. That’s what makes the project really interesting. Being owned and run by the people means that the store on Lamb’s Conduit Street would naturally be very different to another People’s Supermarket somewhere else. That’s because it reflects the community it serves. The proximity to Great Ormond Street hospital, where lots of members work, might have had some influence on the decision not to sell alcohol or cigarettes. But as choices are made by a members’ majority vote, interestingly it’s not only the worthy and ethical ones that get through. It’s not just the locally sourced produce like The People’s Eggs and The People’s Loaf that end up on the shelves. You’ll also see superbrands like Kellogg’s and Nestle. Although the balance leans heavily towards the more ethical end of the spectrum, what the people want the people get.

The Channel 4 documentary about The People’s Supermarket that aired around the same time as the launch was a big indicator of how the idea would resonate nationally. It had an immediate impact. Andy recalls watching the Twitter activity as the programme aired. What people really responded to was the food waste from the big retailers. Fruit and veg being binned because it’s not the right shape and size. “When Arthur talked about that it got the biggest reaction. It’s a shame there isn’t more choice for the consumer. We’re all forced to go to the big chains”.

After the programme they were inundated with people asking, “When are you coming to our town?”. The success of the London store has meant they’re currently in talks with other co-operative associations around the UK that want to do the same thing. Who knows, the success of The People’s Supermarket might be judged well beyond the rather genteel atmosphere of Lamb’s Conduit Street.

The documentary resulted in the takings doubling overnight and saw a massive increase in the number of volunteers. So much so that they were fully booked throughout the whole of February and March. Now the media spotlight has moved on (although Mr Cameron gave a boost after a recent visit) and the summer is approaching, the gaps are starting to appear again in the schedule. Andy jokes that people prefer to have picnics than work in a shop this time of year, but it must be a constant, cyclical effort to get people to join and stay. But, they’re still on a steady increase and if Andy’s enthusiasm is anything to go by, they’re on course to succeed. As one of the few full time members of staff he’s there, frontline, 6 days a week, “I love it, if someone offered me 10 times what I’m earning I wouldn’t leave”. Now that’s community spirit.

www.thepeoplessupermarket.org