Our Story
In 2020 we opened 1 day a week, offering a handful of customers a welcome and inviting place to share their experience, get some advice, and leave with some groceries and essentials, with their dignity intact! Fast forward 5 years, and we’re now open 5 days a week, operating at full capacity supporting 2500 economically disadvantaged people per year to not only manage, but actively overcome financial hardship!
Our story so far
FreeShop Crawley started in November 2020, during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by their own personal experiences, a couple of mums got together to offer people a way of receiving help that provided them with pride and dignity. ​
What makes us different
At FreeShop, we are proud to offer H.O.P.E (Having dignity. Opportunities. Place to call home. Equality and acceptance). We are now offering support to over 600 people a week, can we help you too?
Having dignity
Opportunities
Possibilities
Equality and acceptance
Why did we start FreeShop?
In early 2019, our founder and her family experienced a difficult time financially. Being professionals (a teacher and a policeman), they did not qualify for any additional support. Their eldest daughter had been diagnosed with many allergies, and it was costing a fortune. It became almost impossible to feed her the food that she needed to stay healthy and safe. In addition to this, the looming letters from school about trips, the fear that the children’s feet would grow and new shoes would need to be bought, and having to cancel clubs and dodge activities with friends that cost money were all causing sleepless nights and a world of guilt.
The family reached out to a range of agencies for help, and whilst they were sympathetic, it became apparent that they did not qualify for any support. More and more daily essentials went on credit cards, and there was one consolidation of debt after another, bills piling up, and phone calls being ignored. Finally, things got too much; their mental health and marriage had taken a beating. Exhausted and feeling hopeless, they got advice from a debt management programme, and they finally confided in their family, who, of course, helped and supported them.
They are now doing well, but for so many who share the same story and situation, their ending is not as rosy. Over 100,000 people a year attempt suicide to escape debt. For whatever reason, they have ended up drowning in debt, they are unable to receive financial support, and they saw no way out.
Become a hero
To keep our service running, we rely on the kindness and hard work of volunteers. If you can spare some time, whether that be serving customers, stocking the shelves or shouting about us in your area, get in touch!
How We’ve Grown
What started as a response to one family’s experience of financial hardship has grown into a thriving community charity supporting 2,500+ people every year. From those early days, offering emergency food and essentials, we’ve developed into a place where people don’t just survive crisis, but begin to rebuild their lives.
Today, around 600 people a week are fed through our FreeShop. But we don’t stop at food. Over the years we’ve built a wraparound model of support – our Community Café, workshops, one-to-one guidance, digital access through our Learning Lab, and inclusive community events all designed to help people regain confidence, skills and stability.
We’ve grown a team of dedicated staff and over 150 volunteers, many of whom were once customers themselves. That lived experience shapes everything we do and keeps us grounded in compassion, dignity and respect. We now work alongside more than 35 local partners, schools, statutory services and businesses, because we know that working together is the best way to make change.
Over the years we’ve listened, adapted and evolved – responding to rising need, mental health challenges, neurodivergence, and the barriers people face in accessing support. We are still rooted in the same belief we started with: everyone deserves food on their table, dignity in their hardship, and a pathway out of financial hardship, for good.
The people who make it happen
Laura-Jane Wainwright
Lou Howard
Beth Breckell
Lucy Bear
Gina Breckell
Jake Lines
