Category: Resources

December 3, 2024

Liverpool Christmas Support Page 2024

We have compiled a list of Liverpool-based Christmas Food Support services and resources for the Christmas and New Year period.

Community Christmas Meals

The below organisations are providing a Christmas Meal/hosting an event on Christmas Day:

The Hope Foundation (11:30am – 4pm at 42-44 Townsend Lane, L6 0BA). Booking is required so please RSVP by calling 07842757424.
Lister Steps, The Old Library (10am – 2pm at Green Lane, L13 7EB). Food and activities will be available to all for free. Pre-booking isn’t required but let them know you are attending in advance by calling 0151 254 1394.
Squash Liverpool (12noon – 3pm at 112-114 Windsor Street, L8 8EQ). You can find out more about this event here.

If you are hosting a Christmas meal in the run up to Christmas/on Christmas Day and would like it to be publicised, please email Antonia.

Emergency Food Providers

Please check this spreadsheet to see the opening and closing times of Emergency Food Providers over the Christmas and New Year period.

South Liverpool Foodbank

The opening dates and times for South Liverpool Foodbank’s initiatives can be found here.

Details for each location can be found here.

A referral from a partner agency is required to access the foodbanks. Each pantry shop costs £4 and all service users need a membership (there is no cost for this but people must live within the postcode district for the centre).

To get in touch, please email Abi.

St Andrew’s Community Network

The opening dates and times for St Andrew’s Community Network’s initiatives can be found here.

People accessing the foodbanks will need a voucher from a referral agency. The pantries operate on a membership model, which will cost people £3.50 each time they attend.

You can view St Andrew’s Community Network’s website, call them on 0151 226 3406 or email them for more information.

Micah Liverpool

Micah Liverpool‘s foodbanks will be open at St Vincent’s on Tuesday 24th December and at St Bride’s Church on Thursday 19th December from 10:30am – 12:30pm. No referral or voucher is needed to access this support – just turn up.

Their St Dunstan’s Community Market will be open on Wednesday 18th December and their Granby Community Market on Friday 13th December. They will re-open on Wednesday 8th January and Friday 17th January respectively.

To get in touch, please email Cathy.

New Beginnings Improving Lives CIC (Filling the Gap Foodbank)

New Beginnings Improving Lives‘s foodbank is open on Friday 20th December and Friday 3rd January, providing food deliveries to those in an emergency crisis.

Service users must have been professionally referred to receive this support.

It is recommended to get in touch via email over this period, as phone lines will not be manned.

The Whitechapel Centre

The Whitechapel Centre will be open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm over this period, excluding weekends and bank holidays.

To get in touch with the outreach team at any time, call 0300 123 2041.

Community Food Spaces

Our Community Food Spaces Map is an interactive resource that shows community food spaces across the city.

Before visiting a community food space, please check this spreadsheet to see their opening and closing times over the Christmas and New Year period.

The Queen of Greens

The Queen of Greens is a mobile greengrocer that provides fresh fruit and vegetables to communities across Liverpool and Knowsley.

The service will be closed from its last stop on Friday 20th December until Monday 6th January.

Click here to view the Queen of Greens map.

Squash Liverpool

Squash Liverpool have a couple of upcoming events in the lead-up to Christmas Day:

Winter Warmer Thursdays (Thursday 19th December, 6pm – 8pm). Find out more about this here.
Winter Solstice (Saturday 21st December, 2pm – 4pm). Find out more about this here.

Haven’t filled in our survey about your opening and closing hours?

Please fill in this survey if you operate one food space and this survey if you operate more than one.

Agencies and Other Support

Citizens Advice

Below are the opening hours for Citizens Advice Liverpool during the Christmas period. They will be delivering telephone, email and online advice only during this time as their buildings will be closed:

Christmas Eve: 9am – 5pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: Closed
Friday 27th December: 10am – 4pm (dealing with crisis calls as a priority, such as no food or fuel)
Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th December: Closed
Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st December: 10am – 4pm (dealing with crisis calls as a priority, such as no food or fuel)
Wednesday 1st January: Closed
Thursday 2nd January & Onwards: Open as normal from 9am – 5pm

You can call the General Advice Helpline on 0808 278 7840 until it closes at 2pm on Christmas Eve.

The Winter Holiday Activities and Food Programme

The Winter HAF Programme will be running from Monday 23rd December until Friday 3rd January. Children and young people from reception age to 16 years old who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals will be able to access hundreds of activities throughout the half-term holiday at no cost.

Special provision will be available for children with SEND or additional needs.

Aside from the great range of activities available across the city, a range of free meals will also be provided each day.

Click here to find out where your nearest scheme is and to get more information.

Help In A Crisis

Liverpool City Council have provided sources of support that could be of help to people across the city.

Crisis Merseyside

You can find further information about opening and closing dates and times here.

Local Councillors

You can find your local councillor using this tool.

Winter and Cost of Living Crisis Help

LCVS has compiled a list of services and resources for individuals affected by the Cost of Living Crisis over the winter period:

Warm Hubs:

Click here to find a Warm Welcome Space.

Warm and Cosy with the Archdiocese of Liverpool – various locations
Liverpool Carers Centre Warm Bank Community Living Room – 99 Edge Lane, L7 2PE
APLACE2B: A Place of Welcome – St Cuthbert’s Croxteth Park, L12 0NB
Winter Warm Welcome Days – Kensington Fields Community Centre, L7 8TQ
NBIL Warm Hub – Rocky Lane, L6 4BB
Kitty’s Launderette – 77 Grasmere Street, L5 6RH
BNENC Warm Hub – The Breckfield Centre, L5 4QT

Liverpool-Based Resources and Services:

General Resources:

July 10, 2024

‘A Lifeline To Our Families’: Kinship Carers Project Report

For the last six months, Feeding Liverpool has been working with Kinship Carers Liverpool to support between 30 and 40 kinship families each week by providing them with fresh fruit and vegetables.

This project began in December 2023, after the need for additional support for Kinship Carers was identified by Liverpool’s Healthy Start working group and the Good Food Taskforce; it forms part of Feeding Liverpool’s Healthy Boost Project, which seeks to improve access to good food for those who are at risk of food insecurity.

This report shares the difference Kinship Carers Liverpool’s project with Feeding Liverpool has made to the families who attend the centre by drawing on case studies and information provided by those who benefit from this initiative and those who operate it.

Amongst it’s key information, it finds that:

Families now have healthier diets, eating both more and a wider variety of fruits and vegetables
Recipients have noted that the project has had a positive impact on both their physical and mental wellbeing, allowing them to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and the relief this brings
The project has enabled kinship families to save money and have access to healthy food items, regardless of their financial situation
Families can access healthier food in a way that is convenient and easy for them, reducing the health and financial disparities they are vulnerable to
The project has fostered a sense of community, encouraging families to share recipes and ideas about how to cook healthy meals on a budget
The project has addressed specific kinship needs, making families feel they are being heard instead of being overlooked

You can read this Kinship Carers Report here.

June 14, 2024

More Than Food: Older People And Community Food Spaces Report

Feeding Liverpool have written a report that illustrates the multi-faceted nature of community food spaces and highlights their ability to help older adults in a variety of ways beyond just food provision. This is especially important when the complexities of food insecutiy among the elderly are considered; there are numerous transitions that occur later in a person’s life that demand forms of adjustment and adaptation in order to cope with the challenges these present. In order to mitigate these issues, older people can often find themselves dependent on multiple support systems – of which community food spaces can be one.

The report finds that community food spaces are welcoming organisations, run by members of the community for those in the area. While they work to address people’s immediate food needs, they also serve to build a more sustainable and healthy community for the long-term. Indeed, these spaces have the potential to tackle social isolation, allow people to learn new skills, enhance mental and physical wellbeing, and knit neighbourhoods together – particularly thorugh intergenerational relationships.

You can read the More Than Food: Older People and Community Food Spaces Report here.

May 20, 2024

Feeding Britain’s Affordable Food Clubs Impact Report 2024

Feeding Britain now have 378 affordable food clubs within their network, with a collective membership of just over 90,000 people. Approximately 40,000 people attend an Affordable Food Club supported by Feeding Britain each week, spending an average of £6 per visit. This cost gives them access to food with an average estimated value of £22, which helps to ease financial pressures and make ends meet.

Read their 2024 Affordable Food Clubs Impact Report.

January 24, 2024

NHS Healthy Start Resources

Feeding Liverpool have created this NHS Healthy Start video for families to understand how to apply, what the scheme is and where to use their Healthy Start cards across the city.

Feel free to share the video amongst your colleagues, families you work with and other organisations. If you’d like to promote this video, please email [email protected].

If you’re working in the community and would like some resources to promote the scheme, please click here for the NHS Healthy Start resources.

November 30, 2023

Christmas Foodbank Donations Guidance

This is a time of year where many individuals, community groups, educational institutions and workplaces organise donation drives for Foodbanks. It’s fantastic that so many people want to lend support.

To help focus donations on what would be most effective, Feeding Liverpool have consulted with some of the largest Foodbanks in our network.

What we’ve heard is that whilst festive treats are great at this time of year, please keep donating the staples. High demand during winter means we need these donations to keep foodbank cupboards stocked with all the essentials.

Please donate:

Rice
Pasta
UHT Milk
Tinned Tomatoes
Tinned/Instant Soups
Noodles
Jam
Tinned Meat/Fish
Tinned rice pudding
Instant Coffee
Shampoo

You can download a shareable social media graphic here.

Print off our guidance and put it up at your local donation point here.

November 30, 2023

Feeding Britain’s Affordable Food Clubs Impact Report 2023

Feeding Britain is supporting a network of 348 affordable food clubs – encompassing pantries, larders, and social supermarkets – across its 87 regional and local partnerships. These settings make food and other essentials more affordable and accessible to their 75,000 member households, helping people to stretch their
budgets further while preventing at least some of the need for food banks.

Read their impact report here.

November 28, 2023

Liverpool Christmas Support Page 2023

Here is a list of useful Liverpool-based Christmas Food Support services and resources for the Christmas and New Year period.

Community Christmas Meals

The below organisations are providing free Christmas meals on Christmas Day.

The Hope Foundation will be running a Christmas Day meal from 11.30am until 4pm at the Frontline Centre, 147 Lawrence Road, L15 3HA. To get in touch with them regarding the meal, please email [email protected].

Bay Tree Catering will be running a Community Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day 25th December from 10am – 2pm. This will be at Vauxhall Community Centre, Silvester Street, Liverpool L5 8SE. To book a place, please go through local community organisations.

Squash Liverpool are open on Christmas Day from 12 – 3pm for drop ins. There will be tasty free food available throughout. To get in touch, visit their website or please email Clare Owens [email protected]

If you’re hosting a Christmas meal in the run up to Christmas or on Christmas and you’d like us to publicise it, please email [email protected]

Emergency Food Providers

Please check this spreadsheet to confirm the opening and closing times of Emergency Food Providers over the Christmas period.

Emergency Food spreadsheet, click here.

North Liverpool Foodbank Network

Opening days and times for North Liverpool Foodbanks can be found here.

Details about each foodbank location can be found here.

You will need to go through the usual support agencies to obtain a voucher or voucher code, these include Citizens Advice Liverpool, your GP, health visitor, or social worker.

If the support agency is closed then staff from St Andrew’s Community Network will be picking up answer phone messages on a rota and will be able to issue e-voucher codes over the phone. Please call 0151 226 3406 and leave your name and contact number for the team.