Who are we?
The Little Green Larder is a more than profit social business that exists to make zero waste shopping easy and affordable with sustainable choices being the most convenient. Over the last 4 years we have grown from supplying a small selection of sustainable products to now selling over 200 refillable items and offering the largest vegan pick and mix range in Dundee.
We put the planet and the people in our community at the forefront of everything we do. This means that we don’t sell anything in plastic and only work with suppliers that have the same values that we do. We work with local farms and creators and ensure we always give back to the people in our community.
Since opening we have fundraised over £4500 for local businesses and charities and also donate a percentage of our profits. We donate excess food to community fridges and always make sure to send long lasting dried foods to our local food banks.
The past few years have been very difficult for independent businesses with Dundee seeing many amazing small business closing. Sustainable shops like ours have been closing all across Scotland and we feared we weren’t far behind them.
Since the covid pandemic things haven’t been easy for us and we have come very close to closing our doors for good. We realise we need to either adapt or close our doors this year. We won’t give up without a fight.
Regardless of how difficult times have been for us we have always ensured we reach out to those in our community. We do this by donating Christmas gifts to our local care home, donating raffle prizes to our local schools and donating food to local community larders so that we can refer those in need to these services.
The New Plan
We asked what you all want to see at The Little Green Larder and we have been so excited to hear all of your ideas!
Although we will still be selling refills we will be reducing our lines and only selling our most popular and most affordable products. We will also be reducing the amount of gifts and non-food items, however do keep an eye out for exciting local producer pop up opportunities!
One thing we have always been asked for is more grab and go lunch options so we are looking to raise enough to buy a deli counter so that we can bring you amazing handmade salads and sandwiches along with your favourite vegan sausage rolls and macaroni pies.
Of course there will be cakes, even more than we normally stock and look out for other amazing sweet treats. Our cakes save food waste from ending up in landfill (think spiced apple muffins, carrot cake and chocolate courgette cake) and you can bet you will see more rescued food made into tasty treats for our revamp.
Times are changing and so must we, if we hope to survive the cost of living crisis and the rising costs that has already wiped out so many amazing local Indy shops. This Crowdfunder is our last chance.
Giving Back to Our Community
Since the Covid pandemic a few community larders have opened in our area leading to some confusion due to “Larder” being in our name. We receive so many emails and phone calls from people in our area who are struggling and suffering from food poverty, looking for help. Unfortunately, as a shop we could not afford to give products away, therefore we are adapting to ensure that we can help as many people as possible.
We want to pivot our offering, removing barriers to healthy and affordable on-the-go food, and helping as many people as possible. Introducing freshly made health focused lunch offerings, and a pay it forward wall where anyone grab a voucher for a hot drink or something to eat. No questions asked.
We will also run open days where we take food waste from local businesses and create tasty meals for people in our community to enjoy. It doesn’t cost to be kind and we want to share our kindness in abundance.
What will your donations pay for?
In order to completely revamp the shop we need a bunch of fridges and freezers to ensure we keep everything fresh for you. We need a sink in our main shop area and a dishwasher to ensure everything is kept hygienic. We also need a deli fridge, smoothie machine and some other kitchen appliances.
Rest assured this money won’t be paying for rent, wages, salaries or anything like that.
We aren’t asking for you to give us money and get nothing in return. We have a whole range of amazing rewards to say thank you to you for your kindness. Please do have a look though them and see if there is anything that takes your fancy!