Planet Organic has opened its 14th store in Broadway Market in Hackney, London, through which it will be supporting the community with a number of different initiatives.
In collaboration with Hackney Council, Planet Organic is offering supported internships for young people with learning difficulties and is looking at setting up apprenticeship and mentorship schemes in future.
The retailer will also be allocating donations to Hackney Food Bank each month to help those in crisis, with collection boxes in store supplementing the retailer’s own contribution; and will be selling community cookery school Made in Hackney’s aprons and tote bags as a way to fund ongoing projects, with 100% of all profits going back to the charity.
The store will also be working with VC Hackney volunteer centre to provide meeting space for fledgling, underfunded charities to utilize its meeting rooms for free.
To champion the best that Hackney has to offer, Planet Organic will be stocking products from selected local suppliers in a corner of the shop, including Kompassion Kombucha, I Am Nut Okay and Hackney Honey.
“I have been here at Planet Organic for 19 years and so know the value of strong relationships,” says Al Overton, buying director. “All of our significant achievements over the past 25 years have been a direct result of the partnerships we’ve nurtured. This is why opening the Broadway Market store is so exciting – it is an opportunity to forge new friendships, to talk to new groups of customers and make an even bigger difference.”
