The new Sainsbury’s store in Ross-on-Wye has brought an extra 50 jobs to the town and the supermarket giant has given £250 to a pre-school playgroup to fund new equipment for toddlers as part of its opening fanfare.
The rural community is also celebrating after the supermarket chose to support Rock Farm at Lea by stocking the farm’s potatoes in its Hereford, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud stores as part of its Local First For Fresh campaign.
The doors on the newly refurbished 12,000 ft former Somerfield store in The Maltings were officially opened this morning (Wednesday) with eager shoppers keen to see the difference it will make to the town. Amongst the first to benefit are the children of Ross Pre-school Playgroup, some of whom met the store manager with playgroup manager Vicki Page and treasurer Iris Price.
Iris said: “Sainsbury’s said they wanted to give money to the community so we contacted them to tell them what the playgroup was about. As a charity we keep fees as low as possible so we need to fundraise to keep the playgroup going.
“We are thrilled with this donation and the store has also offered us the chance to do bag packing at Christmas and get involved with other things to help boost the funds and we are very grateful for their help.”
Local resident Joyce Thomas was invited to officially open the store as a representative of the playgroup which she helped set up in 1970. Joyce said: “I’m thrilled to bits to have been asked to open the new store. We’re all delighted by the contribution they’ve made to the playgroup and we’re looking forward to working with all the Sainsbury’s staff in the future.
“It’s so important that we attract stores like this to the town.”
Store manager Denver Martin said he and the staff were excited about the opening. “We’re proud of our new store but the best part of opening is getting to know the community,” he said. “It’s been great meeting new people and we’re looking forward to making a positive difference. We’ve already started by linking up with Ross Pre-school Playgroup at the Larapurez Centre.
“We’re keen to really become part of the community and want to get to know all our customers.”
The store has been completely refurbished since it was acquired in May and includes four self-scan checkouts and a new bakery. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 7am-9pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
Celebrations at Rock Farm centre on the three-way initiative between the farm, the supermarket and Greenvale AP – the UK’s largest supplier of fresh potatoes. The plan is to dig potatoes and get them to store in the shortest possible time so customers get fresh-from-the-ground flavour.
“Our local potatoes are on the shelf within a few hours of being harvested,” said Mark Savidge of the farm near Ross. “The fast delivery means they are the freshest you will ever taste.” They will be in the stores for the rest of July.
