Case studies

Sunshine Co-operative Community Interest Company (CIC)

Welcome to Sunshine CIC, where we are committed to providing the freshest local produce to our community, fostering continuous growth for both our business and our city. In our shop and on our website, you will discover a variety of locally sourced products from regional suppliers, including fresh-baked bread, fruits, vegetables, and dry foods.

Our journey

Since our inception in 2018, we have grown significantly. Our team collaborates with dedicated volunteers, students from local colleges and universities, and other local businesses. As a CIC, we reinvest all profits back into the cooperative, promoting further business growth and supporting the local economy.

Our initiatives

Here are some highlights of our ongoing projects:

• Fruit and veg box delivery: Our weekly delivery service features a diverse assortment locally grown produce sourced from local suppliers. These include Just Let Your Soul Grow and Hendon Regenerative Culture Garden. We are also blessed to have a small "Yarden" at the back of the shop that we are lucky to harvest for our boxes and shop.
• Wellbeing Programme: We pride ourselves on helping people to find their passions - so that they can live their most authentic lives. We support people with barriers to employment; people looking for volunteer opportunities; giving meaningful work-based activities for people with long term conditions that prevent them from entering the labour market.
• Local Heroes Market: We host a stall at the monthly Sunniside Local Heroes Market, showcasing our produce and engaging with the community.
• Collaborations: We work on various projects with other businesses and organisations, including a partnership with FODI, where we cook with women from different cultures; My Sisters Kitchen, Dead Good Legacies; 17Nineteen and Sunderland Arts and Culture Trail.
• Student Engagement: We provide college and university students with work experience and placement opportunities, equipping them with valuable skills for their future careers.

Future developments

• Community room and kitchen: We are exploring the possibility of using the currently vacant upstairs space in our building as a community room and kitchen. This will help us to expand our product offerings as well as hosting events and utilizing the large area that would otherwise remain unused.
• Creating sunshine:  Our team of five professionals, each with experience in social enterprises within the food and wellbeing industry, are dedicated to fostering a thriving food and drink sector in the region. We aim to see Sunderland flourish with community support, like the support seen in Durham and Northumberland. Despite limited government funding, we are determined to bring about positive change in Sunderland. Our first product is an all-natural kombucha - made right here at Sunshine Cooperative.

Our mission

We established Sunshine Cooperative CIC to positively impact the local community, providing an avenue for you to shop from locally sourced businesses and support them. We believe in fostering positive change, and being based in Sunderland, we are at the heart of it.

Visit us

Our store, located on High Street West, is open from Tuesday to Saturday. Alternatively, you can visit us online at www.sunshinecooperative.co.uk, where you can explore our range of products and order one of our popular veg boxes, delivered on Thursdays at your convenience.

Find us at 170-171 High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 1UP

Claire Wayman, Co-director

Tel: 0191 447 1990

For information on other case studies in Sunderland, see below: