Words by Smiley Team
It’s not been an easy time for independent shops, but there’s good news for one store in Brixton, which has been a part of the community for more than 40 years.
Brixton Wholefoods was seriously impacted by the successive coronavirus lockdowns, and since 2016, it’s been subject to significant rent increases, which put a strain on the business.
In 2021, it saw its income drop to such a level that it could no longer survive. Despite the shop’s many ups and downs over the years, this was the hardest yet.
So, shop staff set up a crowdfunder on GoFundMe, writing: “It is very important to us that we can continue, both as a retailer of unusual and hard to get items and, as an employer, providing employment for up to a dozen local people.
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“We have been a rock in the sea of change and we believe that, with continued hard work and dedication, and the support of our loyal customers and the wider community, we can bring the shop back to it’s former strength.”
It aimed to raise enough money to invest in stock to completely fill the shelves again, to re-establish the supply and demand policy it had always adhered to.
Any donation, no matter how small or big, would be gratefully received and used to secure the future of Brixton Wholefoods. Amazingly, it reached its target in less than a week, and on the 30th October, Hilary Waterford updated the fundraiser on behalf of the shop staff.
The community crowdfunded more than £30,000 for the shop. “Thanks to the incredible response of this community we've hit our target in less than three days," wrote Hilary. "It's difficult to put into words how grateful we are to all the people who have rallied around to help us.
“This has been an extremely difficult two years for everybody, but we thought our troubles were minor in the grand scale of things. There have been many times in recent months when it seemed we would finally have to close our doors, so thank you all for showing us that just isn't true.
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“We're going to keep the crowdfunder running for a while longer as every £1 we raise will help provide a buffer as we get back on our feet. If we could hit £30,000 that would cover rent for three months and give us a really strong chance of surviving this moment.
“Thank you so much to everybody for your support so far - what started as a bad week has ended in a wonderful place because of your generosity and community spirit.”
You can continue donating to the Brixton Wholefoods fundraiser here.
