Affordable Food Clubs can include social supermarkets, pantries, larders, food buses and othe community-led initiatives which provide access to nutritious food for a fraction of what these items would cost in a regular supermarket. They enable people on low incomes to stretch their budgets further each week, helping to prevent crisis situations from arising in household finances which can bring the need for food banks into play. They also offer wraparound support to address the wider issues with which people may be struggling.

Feeding Britain have produced an updated toolkit for organisations seeking to get involved in developing these projects, which outlines some of the considerations for anyone developing an affordable food club.

Feeding Britain Affordable Food Club Model Brochure July 2023

We have produced a spreadsheet of foodbanks and food pantries across Liverpool detailing whether those usually open on a Monday will be open or closed during the May bank holidays.

We have also supplied details of the settings that will be open as usual on Tuesdays.

View spreadsheet here

One of the goals of Liverpool’s Good Food Plan is to uncover the true scale of food insecurity. To work towards this goal, Feeding Liverpool have begun collecting information about the scale of food support in Liverpool from organisations providing emergency food support and community food provision. This short update is based on figures supplied by 57 organisations in the city who operate across 93 venues in January 2023.

Key figures:

• Over 2000 emergency food parcels are distributed every week
• Over 3800 community food space visits occur every week
• Over 3400 meals are consumed in a community meal setting every week

Download Sector Update Here

In January 2023, as part of our Emergency Food Network Gatherings, Feeding Liverpool facilitated a session for the network to reflect on the provision of emergency food support in Liverpool across the Christmas period.

This briefing contains a summary of the network’s reflections on the Christmas period in 2022 and proposals to improve provision in 2023, and will be distributed to Liverpool City Council’s Poverty Action Group and the Good Food Plan taskforce to support preparations for Christmas 2023.

 

Download Briefing Here

The below document lists a number of the food suppliers used across the Feeding Britain network and is being updated regularly.

Feeding Britain List of Food Suppliers (February 2023)

The Food Standards Agency has recently published new guidance on food handling and safety for food charities and food banks.

 

View the new guidance on the Food Standards Authority website here

Download a PDF of the new guidance here

This low cost Christmas recipe guide from Radstock Foodies Club in the Bath and North East Somerset Affordable Food Network provides a full week’s meal plan for two people over the festive period.

Download a Christmas Week Meal Plan for Two here

This booklet from HCRG Care Group on energy efficient cooking contains energy saving tips, energy advice, as well as delicious slow cooker, microwave and low cost recipes.

Download the Energy Efficient Recipes booklet here

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

 

Community Christmas Meals Map

This map shows organisations across Liverpool’s communities providing free Christmas meals, and other free food offerings and activities on or around Christmas day and will be updated regularly.

View our Community Christmas Meals Map here.

 

Community Food Spaces

Community Food Spaces Map

This interactive resource shows community food spaces in Liverpool city. Before visiting a community food space, please confirm opening days and times with the venue directly.

View our Community Food Spaces Map here.

Your Local Pantry

View Christmas opening/closing times for the following pantries here:

• Holy Trinity
• Christ Church
• Nugent
• Kensington Fields
• St Andrews
• Ykids
• ASK
• Blue Base EiTC
• St Georges
• VLC
• Millennium Centre

Please contact other Food Pantries that feature on our Community Food Spaces map directly for Christmas opening hours.

 

Foodbanks

North Liverpool Foodbank Network

View Christmas opening/closing times for the following foodbanks here:

• Salvation Army
• Cornerstones
• St Christopher’s
• Christ Church W/B
• Good Shepherd
• St John’s
• WECC
• All Saints
• St Andrew’s
• St Paul’s
• Kensington and Field

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.

Details about each foodbank location can be found here.

South Liverpool Foodbank

View Christmas opening/closing times for South Liverpool Foodbanks here.

Details about each foodbank location can be found here.

L6 Centre

L6 Centre closes on 24th December and reopens on 3rd January.
Local councillors, social workers, teachers etc. have the contact number of the L6 Centre staff for emergencies whilst closed.

Micah Liverpool

Micah Liverpool have normal foodbank services up until Christmas.

In between Christmas and New Year they have cancelled one of their sessions on the 27^th December but are running their foodbank on 29^th December at St Brides Church 10:30am – 12:30pm.

They are back as usual from Tuesday 3^rd January.

New Beginnings Improving Lives

They are closing their face to face services in between Christmas and New Year.

However, New Beginnings Improving Lives (NBIL) will still be accepting emergency foodbank referrals between Christmas and New Year for those in immediate urgent need for food. They stress their foodbank is an emergency foodbank for those who have no food or finances to purchase food.

During this period, any self-referrals will be automatically referred to partner agencies for further support.

Phone and emails will be monitored daily: 07521453600 and [email protected]

 

Winter Holidays Activities and Food Programme

Winter Holiday Activities and Food Programme – During school holidays children and young people aged 5-16 years old, including children with SEND or additional needs, can access free activities and a meal. The Winter HAF programme starts on 23rd December 2022 and there are lots of great activities happening over the school holidays.

Supermarket vouchers will also be distributed. More information here.

 

Liverpool Zero Waste CIC Surplus Food Open Events

Liverpool Zero Waste CIC collect surplus food to save it from landfill and distribute it to communities. Over Christmas and New Year they will be running a number of open events giving out surplus food from over 50 supermarkets to be collected.

• Friday 23rd December 11am to 12pm at St Columba URC, Hillfoot Ave, Hunt’s Cross, Liverpool, Hunts Cross, L25 0NR
• Saturday 24th December 11am to 12pm at St Mary’s Grassendale, St Mary’s Road, Liverpool, L19 0NE
• Christmas Eve Open Event Saturday 24th December 6pm to 10:30pm at All Souls Church, Mather Avenue, Allerton, Liverpool, L19 4TF. More details here.
• New Year’s Eve Open Event Saturday 31st December TBC

Please bring big bags – They are expecting large volumes of surplus food that will need saving.

Find Liverpool Zero Waste CIC on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Agencies and other support

Help in a crisis – Liverpool City Council have provided some sources of support that could help you or someone you know. Liverpool Citizens Support Services will be closed on 26/27 December but open on 28/29/30 December.

Crisis Merseyside and UNISON Merseyside are open 28/29/30 December.

Find your local councillor using this tool.

Visit the LCVS website here for information regarding:

Warm Hubs:

• South Central Community Transport Warm Hub
• Liverpool Carers Centre Warm Hub
• The Life Rooms Warm Hubs (Walton, Bootle & Southport)
• Warm Welcome Hub at The Brain Charity
• Warm Banks – The Archdiocese of Liverpool.

Liverpool-based Resources & Services:

• The Whitechapel Centre – Help for the Homeless
• Help in a Crisis
• Cost of Living Crisis
• Sustainable Warmth Fund
• Citizens Advice & Liverpool Community Advice
• The Live Well Directory for Liverpool City Region

General Resources:

• Priority Services Register for Household Utilities
• Cost of living support – GOV.UK
• Get FREE MOBILE DATA from the National Databank
• Help for Households – GOV.UK
• Energy Bill Relief Scheme: help for businesses + other non-domestic customers
• Fighting UK Poverty – Turn2Us
• Turn2Us Grant Search
• Turn2Us Benefits Calculator
• StepChange
• Lightning Application Portal
• Cost of Living Support | Social Welfare Training
• What supermarkets and shops are doing to help with the cost of living – Which? News

And more!