‘I’m one of those people who says yes to things,” says Dorothy Bowker, sounding bewildered. I’ve just asked her why she decided to launch a community supermarket at an age when most people are enjoying a quiet and retirement, or spending time with their families. (Bowker, 75, is a mother of three, grandmother of nine, and great-grandmother of three.)
“I can’t say no,” Bowker admits. “People say, ‘will you do this thing?’ And I always say yes.”
Since 2015, Bowker has been a trustee of the Bridge at Leigh, which was originally a community cafe in this town small near near Wigan. It was her husband, Frank, who first got involved; he brought her in, and Bowker helped transform the space into a low-cost food market. The group collects surplus stock from supermarkets that would otherwise go to waste and sells it at low prices to members of the community. “People pay a £2 yearly membership fee,” Bowker says, “and can shop at really low prices. If they spend £5, they’re probably getting a bag of shopping worth £20 or even £25.”
The supermarket welcomes all, but particularly people on low incomes, families that are just about managing, and those who may have to choose between heating and eating. “Anyone can join,” says Bowker. “We don’t ask how much they earn. Sometimes we attract people who are more worried about food waste than cost, and they may pay extra. Other families are on benefits, and come regularly. You get to know everyone.”
She is concerned, as many are, about fuel prices. “People are struggling,” she says, “since energy bills went up.” Bowker herself isn’t immune. “I’m frightened to open my own bill!” she says.
The way she sees it, every penny her food market can trim from someone’s food bill is money they can put towards fuel, transport or school uniforms. “If someone can buy cheap food from us,” she says, “it gives them that bit extra to use on something else.”
Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian
Almost every day, Bowker is at the Bridge, arranging deliveries, locating stock, doing payroll or managing volunteers. “For the first few years,” says her sister, Lynda Lilley, “she lived it. It was her life. She was there every day, doing something. She is not a sit-back trustee; she’s a hands-on person. I am so proud of her.”
Bowker takes a hands-on approach because there’s so much to do. “Our warehouse is absolutely full,” she says. “So we’ve located a new warehouse, but that has a big cost implication.” They are always in need of more funds. “That’s the main challenge, really. How do we generate money to pay for all the things we need?” The Bridge runs a community cafe, but it’s not profit-making. “It’s more a service to engage with people through food,” she says.
Bowker has been this way – hard-working, community-minded – her whole life. She was born and grew up in Leigh, describing it as a place with a tight-knit and proud community. She came to her charity work relatively late in life, after running a shoe shop and working as a stylist. Alongside her work at the Bridge, she is also a member of Soroptimist International, an organisation advocating for human rights and gender equality. Bowker has no intention of stopping. “I’ve worked since I left school at 15,” she says. “I think you need something to do, otherwise you can vegetate.”
Over the years, Bowker has seen her community’s struggles worsen – first austerity, now the cost-of-living crisis. “My family were always hard-working and community-minded, she says. “So I guess I thought it was normal to do charity work.”
Hers is an unshowy activism. “You want to make a difference,” she says. “Everything you do is to make a difference, isn’t it?” When I comment that some people have no interest in making a difference to strangers, she’s taken aback. “We’ve got to help the community,” she says, “When somebody says how grateful they are, it makes it all worthwhile.”
Bowker likes to spend the little time she does have to herself relaxing in her garden. At her request, home furnishings retailer Dunelm provides her with two garden loungers and a cool box, for her to enjoy after a long day’s work.
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The furniture arrives in the middle of the UK’s hottest-ever heatwave, with temperatures in the high 30s, so Bowker must wait before she enjoys her garden chairs. “It’s far too hot!” she exclaims, explaining that she’s staying in the shade, as per government advice. But when the temperatures cool, she’ll be out there, unwinding after a long day of staffing issues and deliveries and warehousing queries at the Bridge. “It will be lovely,” she says.
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