Larder East

1,700 tonnes Together

Dominating the Belfast skyline, and just a stones throw from Larder > East, stand Samson and Goliath, the Harland and wolf cranes a visible reminder of the shipbuilding industry that once provided so much employment to those who lived in the streets around our building.

During it’s peak, the shipyard brought much financial security to the people of East Belfast, people didn’t need to depend on a privileged education or generational wealth to gain the skills and job security required to feed their family. But  90+ years on East Belfast has some of the greatest economic disparity in the province. Tightly packed rows of social housing stand just streets away from wealthy, wide and leafy boulevards, and some areas like the lower Newtownards Road show an interesting diversity of longstanding businesses serving born and bred locals alongside emerging entrepreneurs catering to hip young professionals. We know from ten years of experience serving formerly as a food bank that the latter often have a profound care and interest in their neighbours who are experiencing ongoing food insecurity but as it currently stands – never the twain shall meet.

The Harland and Wolf cranes have the combined lifting capacity of almost 1,700 tonnes, one of the largest in the world. So we’ve chosen these icons to represent the diversity of East Belfast and we’re exploring our combined lifting capacity. We can’t afford to wait on politics to fix things anymore. But we hope to provide some of the mechanics to reconcile our communities through the joy of good food.

We want to move away from the language of charity; with its donors and beneficiaries, the thanked and the thankful, the haves and have nots.  And more towards a shared understanding of mutual support, where everyone plays a part, everyone has something to offer.  Because we believe that there is enough imagination, energy and resource for East Belfast to feed itself

So if you love good food and your neighbour, shopping at Larder>East could be for you. Keeping a short supply chain and using social pricing, we do our best to ensure everyone in East Belfast has a seat at the table and a cupboard full of good food.