Huby & Sutton Community Shop
Community Owned Village Shop & Post Office
Our shop is an inspiring example of what a community can achieve when it comes together for a common purpose. 420 residents in Huby and Sutton villages became shareholders in a new Community Benefit Society in May 2015 to take over and operate the village shop and post office as a not-for-profit community enterprise. Volunteers young and old have been inspired to get involved, serving in the shop, receiving stock, cleaning, opening up for morning newspapers and getting involved in all aspects of the shop.
The shop has become a social hub for the village and the Management Committee organise community events around milestones in the shop’s journey.
Our Volunteers
We always welcome new volunteers
Our volunteers are amazing, come and be amazing too!
Get Involved
Huby & Sutton Community Shop runs on the time and enthusiasm of local volunteers. Other than the Post Office staff, all the people you meet in the shop are volunteers. Being open 7 days a week means we have an enthusiastic and skilled team of nearly 50 volunteers.
We rely on having volunteers giving an hour or two of time each week. Some people like to open the shop up and others prefer to cover the shop during the day, whilst others close the shop and do the end of day takings reconciliation. Everyone is given training and support & we have get togethers of volunteers to share the latest news and get ideas.
We have an easy to use app for signing up for shifts. You can sign up for a regular shift, fill in where needed, or a bit of both. You don’t even need to do serving if you don’t want to. We always need help with stocking shelves, back office administration and ordering and cleaning.
By volunteering you can help keep the shop open and successful by giving an hour or two of your time each week.
There’s always a job to be done! And it’s a great way to meet people and keep the village vibrant. Speak to Terry Wolf or email hubyandsuttonshop@outlook.com
Volunteering is good for you and the community
Lynda & Graham Jones are two of our volunteers, Recent retirees, they moved to Huby in September 2019.They got to know Barkers of Huby from stopping by on their house-hunting trips and always thought it was a great feature of the village.
“We hadn’t been here long before Janet in the Post Office said we should volunteer because it was a good way of getting to know people. Someone else pointed out that the shop was a great place to pick up the village gossip – or start the gossip if we wanted to!”
“We’d enjoyed volunteering for things in the past, so decided we could do an hour or two a week. We gave ourselves a few months to settle in and signed up early in 2020. That was shortly before the first lockdown when the shop became a lifeline for the village. Suddenly we were busy with shifts in the shop plus shopping for people shielding, but that way we got to know more people more quickly than we would have done otherwise.”
“It’s been good to learn new skills like how to operate a till and it’s fun meeting the cross-section of Huby & Sutton residents and passers-by who use the shop, especially when there’s chance for a chat. And it means when we pass people in the street, we often know them from seeing them in the shop. We’ve also made some good friends among the other volunteers and enjoy the volunteer socials.”
“The shop is a great asset to Huby and Sutton and it’s good to be playing a small part in keeping it going.”
Community Owned, Community Run
Although the shop is based in Huby, it very much serves the two villages of Huby and Sutton, and the legal entity formed reflected this partnership when created as Huby and Sutton Community Shop Ltd. 420 local residents are non-for-profit shareholders, which provides a strong partnership for decision making and ownership.
At AGM’s held each year in September shareholders hear from the 9 strong shop management committee, receive annual accounts and replace any retiring management committee members.
Supporting Local Suppliers
We work with local suppliers wherever possible. Honey from Helperby. Own-branded preserves and pickles from Sutton. Fresh meat from Tholthorpe. Pies and bread from Easingwold. Cakes from Huby. Wines from Sheriff Hutton. If you have a delicious item you think we should stock, get in touch hubyandsuttonshop@outlook.com
Bespoke Cakes by Sara
Sara is a professional cake maker who has baked for Easingwold Country Markets, and our shop. There is always a tasty selection of cakes, brownies and other moreish cakes.
The Fruity Kitchen
Produced locally near Sutton on the Forest in small batches to traditional methods The Fruity Kitchen creates a wonderful range of quality jams, chutneys, marmalade and jelly. Whether supplying a small wedding with individual bespoke favours through to the first class luxury travel market, The Fruity Kitchen ensures the same level of passion goes into each and every jar.
Cooper King
Cooper King distillery and shop is based just up the road in Sutton on the Forest. As well as being able to buy the spirits from our shop you can tour the distillery every Saturday. https://www.cooperkingdistillery.co.uk/
Sloemotion
Founded in 2002, Sloemotion Distillery is an artisan business creating great tasting spirits and liqueurs. Based at Green Farm, in the village of Barton-le-Willows, just north of York and near to the market town of Malton, Yorkshire’s food capital.
The business began almost by accident, when a farming initiative to improve wildlife habitats resulted in an abundance of sloes. To Joff Curtoys, an ecologist by training, who had grown up drinking his father’s home-made Sloe Gin, an idea began to take shape and Sloemotion was born.
The Stall At Brandsby
Situated in Brandsby, stall selling fresh sourdough bread, jams, plants, and other seasonal produce.
Follow @thestallatbrandsby on instagram for weekly updates on baking days!
What’s going on?
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Shortlisted Finalist for Plunkett Rural Community Business Awards 2024
We are delighted to share the news that we have been shortlisted as a finalist for ‘Investing in Local People’ in this year’s Plunkett’s Rural Community Business Awards. Plunkett’s annual Rural Community Business Awards celebrates the outstanding achievements of community-owned businesses and the dedicated and inspiring individuals who make them happen. The ‘Investing in Local…
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Counter Intelligence – The latest news from your community shop & Post Office
Greetings from the team of volunteers who keep the shop open for all. The shop is going from strength to strength, with lots of lovely new and local products being stocked. The work on the maisonette is complete and it is now being advertised by Stephenson’s in Easingwold. We are hoping to provide a home for anyone wanting to live locally, so please do…
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Closed: Post Office Assistant Vacancy
4+ hours a week & 1 in every 3 Saturdays £11.50 per hour Application deadline: 27th August 2024 Come and join the team at the community shop and Post Office. We are a friendly bunch and the Post Office staff work alongside shop volunteers. The main tasks are Post Office activity but you will help…
Award Winning
The shop and business is run by volunteers on a professional basis and became a finalist in the Countryside Alliance Awards for best village shop and post office in their first year of operation. In 2017 we were winners of the Rural Co-operative Community Awards.
2016 Winner
Organised by Hambleton District Council, Barkers of Huby won the Community Contribution Award in 2016.
2016 Finalist
Only 11 months into our first year, our treasurer Sara Ellis and Chairman Denise Howard OBE represented Barkers of Huby at the 2016 finals of the ‘Rural Oscars’ organised by the Countryside Alliance in the House Of Lords.
2017 Winner
Two of our volunteers Hilary Kilner and Hilary Dangerfield represented Barkers of Huby at the Plunkett Foundation Community Awards in London in 2017 and came back to the village with the winners trophy in the Rural Community Co-Operative Awards.
2017 Finalist
Janet Haw and Elaine Corden needed party frocks for the 2017 Post Office of the Year finals held at the Park Lane Hilton, where we made it to the final six from several thousand entrants!
2019 Winner
Big thanks to Steve and Jules for winning first prize with their Barkers Scarecrow entered into the 2019 Huby & Sutton Show.