Norfolk social supermarket hosts Christmas event

The Purfleet Pantry in King’s Lynn hosted a Christmas fun day last week for local families shortly after launching a new initiative to make sure children across the town have access to dental hygiene products.

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The Pantry’s Christmas event, held on Saturday November 25, welcomed local families to join the festivities. There were stalls selling books, children's toys, stocking fillers, baby clothes, and a Santa Claus gave out free advent calendars to children. The day was supported by The Men’s Shed King’s Lynn with a festive craft stall.

“It's fantastic for the Pantry to be embedded in the community so quickly and we appreciate the opportunity to provide these community-focused events in South Lynn. We get to see a lot of the same families regularly and they've built such a brilliant rapport with our hard-working volunteers and it’s great to see,” said Kieran Gamble from the Purfleet Trust.
 
Pantry Manager Karen Mason said: "The Christmas event was a lovely and we were so glad to see so many people come to the shop. We look forward to bringing more events to the Pantry like this in the new year".
 
With support from Councillor Alexandra Kemp, The Pantry have recently launched a new initiative providing free toothbrushes and toothpaste for children aged 0-7 in King’s Lynn.

Councillor Kemp, who’s been a long-term advocate for dental health, said: “The recent short-term dental plan from the NHS shows that the prevalence of tooth decay in young people in West Norfolk is the highest in the East of England, so we need to do something about it.”

The Pantry, which provides affordable food, essentials, and furniture in South Lynn, has been a lifeline for local parent Emma Marriott.  

Emma said: “They opened just at the right time for us. We had a house fire earlier in the year and most of our furniture was smoke damaged. We came to the Pantry and bought 2 new sofas and other furniture for our house. The free toothbrushes and toothpaste for our children have been a brilliant help as well.” 

On the project, Pantry Manager Karen Mason said: “We are really pleased to be worth with Councillor Alexandra Kemp on the campaign to raise awareness of this issue, and we’d like to thank Beauty Bank and Co-Op Pharmacy Hunstanton for the donation of the children’s dental products.” 


Pictured: Santa giving out advent calendars & Councillor Kemp with Karen Mason, Emma Marriot and Michael Wright – courtesy of Purfleet Pantry.