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Foodbank vouchers
Our foodbank works using a voucher referral system. Find out more about how we work.
We know that anyone can find themselves at crisis point for a number of different reasons.
In order to provide the most appropriate help for the circumstances of your situation we work with local agencies. If they feel you are struggling to put food on the table, they will issue you with a foodbank voucher. The local agency can also provide long term support if needed to help address some of the issues behind the reasons for your crisis.
Our foodbank works with a number of different agencies, such as Citizens Advice, children’s centres and health visitors. To find out more about the agencies that hold our vouchers and how you can get help, please see our list of referral agencies here
When you visit a referral agency they will take some basic details from you to complete the voucher. This will help them to identify the cause of your crisis and offer practical guidance. It also means we are able to prepare suitable emergency food for the right number of people.
Once you have been issued with a voucher, you can exchange this for a minimum of three days of emergency food at your nearest foodbank centre.
Vouchers issued by our referral agencies will be in electronic format, known as e-vouchers, e-referral codes or e-numbers. You don’t need a paper version; simply make a note of the code and bring it with you to the foodbank centre
If you are a referral agency and would like to become a registered voucher holder for our foodbank, please contact us to find out more.
Please note: Only three vouchers per client can be fulfilled in a six month period, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Referral agencies will need as much information as possible to assess levels of need.
We would never want to turn away anyone who needs a food parcel but we would also not want to be in the position where in giving someone a fourth food parcel it meant someone was not able to receive a first one. We have needed to make this difficult decision to enable us to help as many people as possible, whilst monitoring our food stock levels.
Please remember we supply emergency food parcels, enough for three days and are not able to top up someone’s food stocks nor can we be used as a supermarket.