Get help

How to get help from us

If your income is too low to afford food and essentials, we're here to help

In order to provide the best help for your situation, our food bank works with local agencies. If your income is too low to afford the food and essentials you need, they may be able to refer you to us with a food bank voucher. 

If you live in Wandsworth Borough, you can also apply for emergency financial help from Wandsworth Council – for help with rent, food vouchers, prepayment gas and electricity, and essential white goods and furniture.

Local agencies that refer to Wandsworth Foodbank include: Citizens Advice Wandsworth, Wandsworth Borough Council teams, schools, children’s centres, housing associations, GPs and health visitors, social services, community mental health teams and other local charities like South West London Law Centres, Wandsworth Carers and Little Village.

If you’re not in touch with a local agency who can refer you to us, you can:

 

1. Contact Citizens Advice Wandsworth

You can call Citizens Advice Wandsworth’s free AdviceLine on 0808 278 7833 to speak to a volunteer adviser (open Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm). They’ll talk confidentially with you about your situation and refer you to our food bank if needed. When you call you’ll have to wait in a queue, due to high demand for their help. Citizens Advice Wandsworth answers most calls within 45 minutes, but calls are free from a UK mobile or landline.

 

2. Call our free national helpline

You can call Trussell Trust’s national helpline for free on 0808 208 2138, and talk confidentially to a trained Citizens Advice adviser.  This helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm (closed on public holidays).

Like local Citizens Advice Wandsworth, they can help address your crisis and provide support to maximise your income, help you navigate the benefits system, and identify any additional grants you could be entitled to. If needed, they’ll issue you with a voucher so you can get an emergency food parcel from your local food bank.

3. Get in touch with us

If you haven’t been able to get through to the local or national helplines above, please call or email our food bank. We can talk through your situation and try to put you in touch with a relevant local agency.

 

What happens next?

The person referring you to our food bank will ask you which of our welcome centres is most convenient for you to collect food essentials from. This is where you can pick up the food you need, and find further support.

When you visit us, we’ll chat through any dietary  or cultural food needs you may have, and if you need extra items like nappies and baby wipes.

If you’re not already receiving advice and support to try to sort out what’s causing lack of money for food, we can offer support from our Foodbank Advice Project. This would be face-to-face or phone advice from one our kind and expert Foodbank Advisers, who can help you try to resolve urgent problems with issues like rent arrears and debt, as well as checking you’re receiving all the benefits you are entitled to.

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