St Vincent de Paul Open Vinnies Supermarket in Melbourne

|PIC1|The St Vincent de Paul Society started its operation of Vinnies Budget Groceries in suburban Heidelberg West last Wednesday on 10th August. There are 10,000 grocery lines selling for up to 25% cheaper than regular supermarket prices.

The store at the Heidelberg West Mall opens Wednesday to Friday, 9am-3pm every week. “In order to keep the price as low as possible, the store does not take profits and all staffs are volunteers,” project officer Max Fletcher said. The store aims to open to pensioners, health card holders and people on government benefits.

”Everyone said how much they loved it. People were shocked by the variety we have, such as fresh fruit, meat and bread.” Mr Fletcher said, “The aim is to keep staples, such as bread and milk, as cheap as possible, and I just enough to cover the rent.”

On last Wednesday, the local mayor, Cr Greg Ryan, officially opened the Heidelberg West store. According to the plan, five more stores will open in Victoria, including Moe, Ballarat and Wangaratta.

Today in Western Australia there are 16 stores operating. Six of them are run by the Society who also manages a warehouse from the State Office, supplying goods not only to the Society stores but also some of the community-based operations.