The People's Supermarket: Democratic Utopia or Another Lefty Pipe Dream?

The People's Supermarket is a new series that begun on Sunday 6th February on Channel 4. Initially I was a little sceptical about the way the issue of supermarkets taking over neighbourhoods would be treated, but I'm drawn to anything food or consumer affairs related so this appeared to be a winner.

After a montage introducing chef Arthur Potts Dawson and his mission to change people's shopping habits, the programme opens with Arthur Posh Name being shown around the ghostly, hollow shell of a closed down supermarket. Complete with the twinkly, inspirational background music we're immediately plunged into his Dream of a completely cooperative supermarket run For the People, By the People. But can he do it? And how many episodes can we make out of this? Stay tuned.

My first impressions was that the start of the show was very fast paced, one minute we were being shown around Arthur's idyllic restaurant garden where he utilises all his kitchen waste to make compost to grow the vegetables, proudly showing us his home grown “concrete jungle beetroot”, then we're were being thrust into the dreadfully melancholy section about milk, as prices have been forced down so much by the supermarkets, the dairy industry has been brought to its knees.

“We aren't producers, we're slaves” sighs one of the dowdy farmers. We have a moment to watch uncomfortably as a farmer tries to hide his tears from the camera followed by a few stills of an empty milking station and a farm under a setting sun. Nice metaphor.

 My cynicism remains as we're shown this utter utopia of new-age hippie supermarket in New York (before you judge I work the cafe of a cooperative vegetarian shop so I'm all too familiar with the concept and its ideals) where running costs are kept low by getting its members to work for free for so many hours a month. GENUIS. Arthur decides to copy. Uh oh, I sense the less altruistic Brits aren't gonna be quite so game.

 By far the most shocking and insightful part of the programme was when we go around with the 'Wombles of Crystal Palace' and see the scale of food waste in the supermarket bins. It got me thinking; some documentaries have the power and impact to change corporation's ways (think Jamie's School Dinners and Supersize Me), could this do the same? I'd be interested to hear what the bigwigs at Tesco and Waitrose would have to say about the wastage revelation.

As it continues, I begin to admire Arthur's bravery and start caring less about trying to pick holes in it. Unlike the unimpressed locals complaining about the price of Winalot and 2 packs of Andrex in his freshly opened, half stocked People's Supermarket. This may end up being a project that could spread about the country, if it proves to be a success. I still think it will rely on postcodes, however, as the more affluent the area, the more people who will get on board as the idea of a joining fee just for 10% off Coca Cola and organic artichoke won't draw everyone in, as this first episode demonstrates clearly.

Saying that, if a People's Supermarket opened near me would I join it? I think I would.