For the year ending 31 March 2025

Welcome to the second annual report of Carrick Greengrocers—a year that was full of growth, learning, community connection and, yes, plenty of challenges. As always, we remain committed to strengthening Carrickfergus’ local food system, supporting local growers, and keeping nutritious, affordable food at the heart of our town.

A Year of Big Moments

From community events to national recognition, 2024–25 was packed with milestones:

• Our Friendly Food Club launched in June with support from Bridging the Gap.

• We celebrated our first birthday in July with a billboard on Davy’s Street and an interview on BBC Radio Ulster.

• In September we hosted at Fields Good, sharing what it takes to build community food systems from the ground up—and held our very first AGM.

• October brought exciting news: a nomination for Coop of the Year at the Social Enterprise Awards.

• We launched our veg box delivery scheme (powered initially by a spreadsheet and Lee’s brain!).

• In November, Minister Andrew Muir launched the NI Food Strategy Framework from our shop—an important moment of recognition for community-led food work.

• December saw our shop manager Brooke return, a hugely busy Christmas veg pre-order season, and a feature in the Growing Innovation Network’s Who Grew Your Christmas Dinner? campaign.

• In early 2025 we spoke at the Oxford Real Farming Conference, contributed to NI Science Festival workshops, and shared gut health tips throughout February.

• March brought a national spotlight: we were featured in the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission’s regenerative agriculture showcase for King Charles’ visit, appearing on BBC and UTV news.

• And we launched our new Ooooby online shop—finally freeing veg box orders from Lee’s head!

Alongside all this, we catered several wonderful community events and continued spreading the message of fair food systems locally and across Northern Ireland.

The Year in Numbers

• 8,365 transactions

• Average basket: £8.08

• 34 local suppliers, most from County Antrim

• 14 volunteers

• And some fun stats… we sold:

  • 3,534 satsumas

  • 2,109 Pink Lady apples

  • 922 sourdough loaves

  • 962 kg of carrots

  • 449 kg Comber earlies

  • 748 bottles of kombucha

  • 584 bottles of apple juice

  • 122 bags of honeycomb

  • 658 bags of dulse

Every purchase helps keep local food producers thriving.

People, Partnerships, and Advocacy

This year we’ve spent significant time talking with councils, government departments, universities and community groups who are curious about our model. Our work with Rubber Republic’s Antidote project helped share our story even further, encouraging other communities to explore grassroots food initiatives.

We’re proud to champion a food system that is fair, local and sustainable.

The Challenges We Face

With all the good news, it’s also important to be honest about the realities:

Our shop manager works three days a week—leaving three days covered entirely by volunteer directors who also juggle marketing, finance, deliveries, advocacy and more.
To keep opening six days a week, we urgently need at least four new volunteers, each giving 4 hours per month.
A small commitment makes a huge difference.

Town centre footfall remains very low.

Carrick town centre continues to struggle, and local closures this year made a noticeable impact. Without a clear plan from local government for renewal, the cycle of low footfall continues. We remain committed to being part of a healthier local economy—but it is an uphill battle.

There is no infrastructure support for community shops in NI.

In England, initiatives like Power to Change offer match funding that transforms community businesses. No such support exists here.
With it, we could have expanded sooner, paid for more staffing, or invested in proper marketing.
Without it, we must generate around 10% of our income from outside shop sales—through catering, speaking work, and small grants.

Friendly Food Club funding is ending soon.

We believe deeply in the Friendly Food Club and hope to continue it. We will soon add a donation option on our Ooooby veg box site for anyone who would like to help keep it going.

Looking Ahead

Despite tough conditions and narrow margins, we are incredibly proud to still be here—opening our doors six days a week, championing local food producers, and serving our community.

To everyone who has shopped with us, volunteered, delivered produce, encouraged us, or simply spread the word: thank you.
Carrick Greengrocers exists because our community wants and supports a better food system—and together we are making it real.

You can see our full annual report here