Community fridges
This is where extra food is shared for free, bringing people together to eat, connect, learn new skills and reduce food waste. They are usually stocked by local businesses sharing food that wouldn’t otherwise be sold in time, fresh produce from local gardeners and food provided by the public. To find out more visit: https://www.hubbub.org.uk/the-community-fridge
Reduced fruit and veg at your local supermarket
Lidl offers £1.50 veggie boxes every day with fruit and veg that is just past it’s best. You can usually find them near the checkouts, but only a small number are available in each store.
Apps
There are several apps available that you can use like Too Good To Go, which tell you your local shops that have bagged up, end of day items that they need to sell.
Gurdwaras
All Sikh temples, also known as Gurdwaras, offer free vegetarian meals to people of all backgrounds via a ‘Langar’. In Sikhism, ‘Langar’ means a community kitchen run by volunteers. Just search ‘Gurdwaras near me’ to find your local community kitchen.
The Trussel Trust
You can get a referral from social agencies for vouchers if you need free, emergency food. These can be exchanged for a parcel with three days of nutritionally balanced food. They can include store cupboard ingredients such as pasta, cereal, tinned vegetables and long-life milk etc. Fresh food is also offered when available. Most food banks also offer toiletries, pet food, cleaning and baby products too. You can search your local foodbank here: trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank
