Business Name: Good Food Catford
Support received: Start Up Loan, Lewisham Business Support Initiative
Location: London
Website: https://goodfood.org.uk/
Good Food Catford is a community-centred grocery store and deli, focusing on local, seasonal and wholefoods. Vicky Skingley, the founder, is a nutritionist who has always been interested in food and what real people eat. The shop opened its doors in March 2015, and is currently employing five part time staff.
Vicky is a Lewisham resident and is supported by London Small Business Centre, Lewisham Business Support Initiative, funded by the London Borough of Lewisham.
We spoke to Vicky about Good Food Catford, the business support she received, and her hopes for the future.
Where did the idea for your business come from?
There wasn’t a shop like this in Lewisham, certainly not in Catford. There was a need and desire by local residents to have something like this. People want to shop locally now, they don’t want to go to the supermarket – people are more interested in where food comes from. I live here and I wanted to shop somewhere like this.
Tell us more about the concept behind Good Food Catford
We are a health food shop, in a sense that we sell food that is good for us and good for the environment. It’s all about what is responsible and the right thing to do. We pay our staff a Living Wage, which is a struggle for a small business. Once we are properly settled we will be looking to hire an apprentice, so that as a business we can give people relevant, useful experience and life skills, to help them get better jobs in the future. It’s not about just showing them how to use the till.