OAP Cafe Shots AG-15

It’s easy to miss how supermarkets have become embedded in the daily rhythms of everyday life. Beyond places to buy food, they can be an important space in many towns and neighbourhoods – especiallywhere libraries, youth centres and even post offices have disappeared.

As supermarket chains scale back or shut their cafés, we risk losing more than just convenience – we risk further weakening the social fabric of our communities. These ordinary, everyday spaces often quietly support mental health, reduce loneliness and offer a sense of place and belonging.

Protecting and expanding this role is both a social necessity and an opportunity.

Vital community partners

In efforts to ‘level up’ and regenerate struggling areas, we must pay attention to these vital spaces. Supermarket café closures should trigger a broader conversation about how grocery retailers, as large, visible, and well-resourced institutions, can contribute to local wellbeing.

Rather than letting these closures pass unnoticed, we should view them as a catalyst for action.

Supermarkets also act as what the Centre for Local Economic Strategies calls ‘anchor institutions’ – large organisations that can leverage their resources to support local economies and communities. Supermarkets, with their property holdings, local employment, and consistent footfall, are well-placed to support a ’wellbeing economy’ while also cementing their role in the community – if they choose to engage meaningfully.

This isn’t a new idea. The belief that businesses should contribute to social good dates back to the Rochdale Pioneers and philanthropists like Joseph Rowntree and Titus Salt. Yet despite this legacy, most supermarket chains have yet to fully embrace their potential as community partners.

While many support food hubs, community fridges and local charities, these efforts often appear piecemeal and driven by centralised CSR agendas rather than grounded, place-based strategies.

Missed opportunities

What’s missing is a systemic approach. Decisions about store layout, services, and cafés are typically made at head office, where there is limited understanding of local needs.

Without frameworks to support local engagement and accountability, supermarkets will continue to miss opportunities to help address health inequalities, loneliness and economic challenges. And failing to attend to the local community may be a source of regret for retailers who do not then differentiate their in-store offer from their competitors.

Supermarkets have of course contributed to some of the problems we face: ultra-processed food, the decline of the high street, and questionable marketing practices. But precisely because their influence is so great, we must hold them accountable and push for more than token gestures. Their role is too significant to ignore.

Local councils, public health teams, and civil society should be looking at ways to engage with supermarkets to address rising food insecurity, poor mental health, and skills mismatch. The potential for shared value creation is great, if we can only shift the conversation from transactions to relationships.

Café culture reimagined

The closure of cafés could be the start of this creative thinking. How might we reimagine these spaces as hubs for community advice drop-ins, skills workshops, or social connection? How could we formalise the role of supermarkets in place-based strategies for health and wellbeing? 

We could redefine supermarket spaces, especially in areas which lack other social infrastructure. Retailers could commit to serving as social hubs, supporting initiatives like Asda’s Chatty Café Scheme, Chatty Checkouts or other community-led meeting spaces.

Local authorities and charities could explore co-hosting community events, training, or drop-in services within supermarket spaces. They could act like anchor institutions, prioritise local suppliers and invest in community-focused programmes.

Ultimately, we need to broaden the conversation.

Supermarkets already benefit from their locations, through local spending, labour and land. In return, they should adopt a longer-term perspective on both ‘giving back’ and on the benefits of playing an anchor role, by acting in ways that are tangible, sustained, and aligned with the priorities of the communities they serve.

With the right frameworks and collaboration, supermarkets can help rebuild local economies and strengthen social ties. We must demand and expect more from the places we rely on most.

Caroline Lee is senior research associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership