Advice if you are struggling to afford food

Vulnerable people, whether it is you or someone you know, should contact the Social Care Access point to request a social care assessment which will also assess food needs.

Advice Agencies

The first step is to get help with resolving any underlying money issues. There are several local money advice providers who can help with benefits, debt and budgeting advice. Most can also refer to food banks.

The council’s Family Service Directory has a list of various advice agencies that can help with budgeting and food access.

Moneyworks advice line is a service provided by a partnership of community advice agencies across the city and can help with all money issues and foodbank referrals, call: 0800 988 7037 (open Mon 1-5, Tue 9-1, Wed & Thu 12.30-4.30, and Fri 10-2) or contact: Citizens Advice Helpline on 08082 78 78 15.

St Luke’s Advice Service are a charity providing both benefits and money advice. They can support clients to access all benefits and welfare support available and to help manage debt. Call on 01273 549203  from Mon-Fri 9am-5pm or email [email protected].

For immediate advice and support about getting food, shopping and meal deliveries contact the Food Access Team at Impact Initiatives who work in partnership with the Council and local organisations, either email [email protected] or call 01273 322950.

The council has a page on Universal Credit in Brighton  and financial advice.

Local Discretionary Social Fund (LDSF)

If you receive benefits and need help to pay for essentials you can’t live without, apply for help from the Local Discretionary Social Fund or phone 01273 293 117 and select option 1. Currently the LDSF are able to consider applications for one-off support if a household has encountered a financial crisis, evidence of which will be requested. 

Advice for university students

Studying at university can be a costly experience, especially for those on a low income or travelling from overseas. Many student support services have advice available around money or debt and hardship funds you can apply for if you are struggling to afford your living costs, including food. Universities have a duty of care towards their students, so it is important to let them know if you need help.

There is food support available for students at Brighton Students’ Union Essentials (BSU) and University of Sussex Meeting House Pantry.

University of Sussex

Students can access immediate food support through the meeting house which is located nearby Falmer house. The university also has subsidised a daily £2 meal scheme: “You can find the £2 meals at Eat Central in Bramber House. Each weekday between 12 noon and 2pm, a vegetarian or vegan option is offered at this price, giving you the opportunity to grab a healthy and tasty hot meal while on campus.”

Brighton University

Brighton Students’ Union offers a range of initiatives designed to assist students with the cost of living:

• The Pantry: Non-perishable food and toiletries are provided on City Campus (Grand Parade Building), Falmer Campus (Ringmer House), Moulsecoomb Campus (Cockcroft Building), and Eastbourne Campus (Greynore Building). These are unmonitored shelves where students can collect products, and staff can drop off donations. These locations also offer spare textbooks, condoms, STI tests, and information on funding and hardship.
• £5 Hot Food Vouchers:  Students’ Union staff are able to distribute £5 vouchers on request that can be used in the cafes on campus, providing a hot meal for those in need. These vouchers are given out with no questions asked. Students can collect these vouchers from any BSU shop, café, or office.
• Free Period Products: Available in all ground floor toilets.

The University of Brighton also offers various hardship funds that students can apply for to address the cost-of-living crisis, including Student Support Funds – Undergraduates and Postgraduates, Bus Tickets, Transitional UB1 Support Scheme, International Hardship Fund, EU Student Support Fund, DSA Contribution Fund, Bridging Loans and UniCard Credits. See the Hardship Funding page for details or contact student support on [email protected] or 01273 642888.

BIMM, Institute for Contemporary Theatre & Brighton Film School

Student Support for BIMM students and its partner schools ICT and Brighton Film School also have hardship funding and advice available. Contact the Enquiries Team on 01273 840 346 or email [email protected] for more information.

Waterbear Music College

Finance and funding advice available, contact student support via [email protected].

Free School Meals

Children whose parents receive certain benefits (but not working tax credit) are entitled to receive free school meals. Find out if your child is entitled or apply online.

The council will help you apply. Email or call the Free School Meals Team on 01273 293497. You will need to tell them your National Insurance Number or your National Asylum Seeker Number (NASS), your date of birth, and your surname (as it appears on your benefit letter).

Healthy Start Vouchers

These are worth 4.25 a week per child to spend on milk, fresh fruit and vegetables if receiving certain benefits and pregnant or have children under the age of four; or pregnant and under 18. See Healthy Start website for details.

Health professional signature no longer needed and they will post a form out if necessary.

School holiday meals

There are several providers of holiday activities and food, including Chomp Brighton who run a lunch club called during the school holidays where children and their families, who usually rely on free school meals, can enjoy a free healthy meal and fun activity.

Cheaper options for buying food

There are a range of affordable food projects across the city, where you can pick up a weekly shop cheaper than your average supermarket.

We also have information on free & cheap meals outside the home e.g. lunch clubs, community cafes and other shared meals.

You can pick up surplus food from Real Junk Food Project Brighton’s Bevendean Food Hub on a pay-as-you-feel basis.

There are three Community Fridges in Brighton where you can pick up surplus food for free.

Council housing tenants

The council’s tenant customer support team are available to help you work through any issues you are having with your property. If you have concerns that your financial situation will impact your tenancy, contact them in the first instance for support: email at [email protected] or phone on 01273 293 030

Access to cooking equipment

It is hard to eat well on a budget without a cooker, fridge or a set of saucepans. The Local Discretionary Social Fund can help provide cookers or fridges.

The Brighton Furniture Scheme of the St Vincent de Paul Society can provide furniture and basic white goods for individuals and families living in Brighton & Hove who rely solely on benefits. Referrals can be made by social workers or health visitors. They should call 01273 501 114 with background information. The SVP will send an assessor, work out their needs and issue a voucher.

Apply to the Local Energy Advice Partnership and check your eligibility for their appliance delivery and installation scheme.

Brighton Food Bank can provide basic cooking equipment (saucepans etc) to those moving from homelessness by referral from agencies.

Benevolent funds for former occupations (e.g. military, teachers, transport, care workers) may help. Try searching the Turn2Us website. This site is also a good source of information about covering unexpected expenses such as funerals. Locally, over-55s in need can try the Derek and Eileen Dodgson Foundation.

If tenants in private rented accommodation have broken or dangerous cooking, washing, heating or toilet facilities, Environmental Health can make the landlord fix these (if the facilities are provided by landlord not the tenant). Call 01273 293156.

Larger shared houses with five or more unrelated people living in them (just three or more people in some areas of the city) must be licensed as ‘houses in multiple occupation’ (HMOs). Cooking and food storage facilities must be provided including sinks, hot & cold water, cookers, electrical sockets, worktops, cupboards and fridge/freezers. Environmental Health will enforce this. Call 01273 293156.

Cookery skills

It is hard to eat well on a budget if you don’t know how to cook. The Food Partnership often run low cost cooking courses. Other places which can help with cooking skills include:

• 16 Plus Support Service offer support for people under 21 leaving care
• BHT First Base Day Centre’s Catering Training project is for people wanting to access employment in the catering industry and gain skills, though they do accept clients wanting to learn more about eating well on a budget, food and mood, nutrition etc. It’s for people who are street homeless, in temporary accommodation or in hostels. Contact for an application form.
• Various other cooking and healthy eating classes run regularly. Check the WEA for details.

Cooking from scratch nearly always saves money compared to ready meals. Our Cooking on a budget leaflet has plenty of great recipes and tips and you can also try some of our favourite budget recipes on our website. The cooking on a bootstrap blog (formerly ‘A Girl Called Jack’) is another great resource.

If you have kids, try Let’s Get Cooking at Home for some easy and inspiring recipes.

Getting help with your gas and electricity bill

Energyworks project (formerly Warmth for Wellbeing) is a collaboration between Money Advice Plus and Citizens Advice that provides support to people experiencing fuel poverty through advice and grant payments. This service can be contacted on 0333 090 9150 or [email protected], they will aim to respond within 5 working days.

Energy efficiency schemes often change so please follow this link for more information about what is available.

Or for energy advice contact Citizen’s Advice Brighton on 08082 78 78 15.

Sussex Fire & Rescue Service are providing free home safety visits by appointment. They will be able to advise you on safely using gas, electric and heating alternatives such as candles or fireplaces, how to keep your home warm and even fit free safety devices such as smoke alarms. To get more info and arrange a visit, call 0800 177 7069  or email [email protected].

Internet access

If you don’t have internet access but need to log-on to access services/advice, Digital Support have resources and sessions across the city.

Tips on eating well within your budget

The Food Partnership’s budget eating advice includes money saving tips and our Cooking on a budget leaflet has budget recipes and tips.

Printed Eating Well on a Budget guide leaflets are available free of charge to local health and community organisations. We sometimes run ‘Eating well on a budget’ cookery courses, please check our Community Kitchen listings or sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter.

Want top tips about how to waste less food to save money?

Mealime is a recipe planning website that helps you plan your shopping. Simply sign up and create a meal plan from their tailor-made list of recipes and it will generate a shopping list of all the ingredients you need to buy. As well as reducing any food waste it encourages you to stick to your budget.

Be smart with your discounts

Supermarkets reduce prices on products that are close to their sell by date. This can be a great way of picking up bargains – but be sure that you’ll eat or cook everything you buy before it goes off. MoneySavingExpert has worked out the time of day that different supermarkets may reduce prices- see their ‘Tip 23’.

Similarly BOGOF offers (buy one get one free) might be a cheaper but it’s only a bargain if you needed it anyway.

Websites such as www.approvedfood.co.uk offer deals on bulk purchases including food past its ‘best before’ but not its ‘use by’ date. Stick to basic ingredients (like pasta) and be wary of tempting offers on processed foods like crisps and fizzy drinks that are low in nutritional value.

Try apps like TooGoodToGo to rescue cheap bundles of fresh food or groceries from restaurants, shops and cafes. Olio connects both people in your community and local businesses to encourage people to rescue food and household items for free.