The other day I attended a seminar and during one of the breaks chatted to a lady about Southcare and the many services we provide. When I told her about Mankara,  she said that her Mother is a pensioner living in Manning,  but didn’t use the Southcare supermarket because it stocked “out-of–use-by date” product. I was quick to explain that any products that have a short use-by date are usually sold at well below manufacturing cost, but they are just specials and the bulk of our products are purchased from a wholesaler that specialises in supplying small supermarkets. The items stocked on the shelf are those that have been found to be the most popular with our regular clients and include many well-known brands and certainly are not-out-of-date.

 

We purchase in carton lots, so we can get the best price and add a very small margin so that  Mankara pays for running costs. The shop is totally run by volunteers who are very proud of the excellent turn-over of stock. Anything that seems to be sticking is quickly put on special, so that the money can be re-invested on more popular items. There is day-old bread most days, but as this is donated by local bakeries, we have it available free. We often also have free seasonal vegetables and fruit when kind local residents have a bumper crop and donate them. The beautiful honey from an apiarist in the hills and low-priced free-range eggs are top favourites and need to be reordered every week. Fruit and vegetables selection is small but offers most items required by our clientele.

 

So who can use this little, low-priced supermarket nestled in the Southcare premises? It is available to all people who fin d that their income is no longer stretching as it used to. In order to keep our costs as low as possible,  we do not offer EFTPOS service,  so you do need to come with cash. As the shop is small, we stock the most popular sizes of the most popular brands but not many different brands of the same item. Our cheerful volunteers are always very happy to help with items you can’t find or are on a high shelf – and love to have a chat if you are so inclined. Mankara is also used by our Financial Counsellor for emergency relief food vouchers.