Food
If you are struggling to provide food for you and your family, we can help.
Food bank and food parcels
If you have no food at all, please contact us or drop into a Hub for a Food Bank Voucher. We will ask about your circumstances and check you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to, and help you with any debts and expenses.
You can also access Food bank vouchers via other organisations and collect via their locations
Food Pantries
Offer access to food for a small weekly subscription (usually around £5) which can include fresh fruit and veg and cupboard favourites. Some only accept residents from their area, but some cover all of Cardiff. For details of schemes in your area see the website: www.yourlocalpantry.co.uk
Community Fridges
The fridge provides free access to food for anyone 7 days a week using a pay as you feel system to help with running costs. Using surplus food to redistribute to those who need access to food, anyone and everyone can use the fridge. It aims to tackle food insecurity and food waste simultaneously.
The fridge may contain vegetables, sandwiches, cooked foods, cooked meat with a use by date, cooked fish with a use by date, dairy products, milk and other drinks.
Cardiff Community Fridge, Cathays Community Centre, 36-38 Cathays Terrace Opening Times: Monday to Friday: 9:30am to 11pm Saturday to Sunday: 10am to 11pm
Food Co-Ops
Splo-Down Community Food Group
Splo-Down Community Food Group is a group of neighbours from Splott, Adamsdown and Tremorfa who have come together to meet their own food needs collectively.
Weekly member-run market stall based in the Oasis Centre courtyard – 69B Splott Road Cardiff CF24 2BW. Every Wednesday 5pm-7pm.
For more details, visit https://splo-down.org
Pet Food Bank
Provides pet food and pet items for:
- People experiencing homelessness
- Vulnerable people
- People aged 50 and over
- Victims of abuse
- People in a financial crisis or poverty
- Victims of natural disasters
- People waiting for Universal Credit
Help is available via:
Pet food bank service – Pet Foodbank, Pets, Animal Foodbank
Food apps
Olio –
Share food with neighbours and friends or get details of food being given away by local shops.
Too Good to Go
Food businesses advertise bags of food available at a low price. Contents will vary
Kitche
Track food as you buy it, to help you manage your shopping and reduce food waste. Also recipe suggestions based on what you have in the cupboard.
No waste
Lists for your cupboards and freezer to track foods and expiry dates, to avoid waste
Free School Meals
If you are on a low income and your child is in primary or secondary school, you may qualify for free school meals. Make your application via the council website and you will be contacted with further details.
Healthy Start Vouchers
Healthy Start is a scheme to help expectant mothers, new parents and their children to eat healthily. If you qualify, you can get free vitamins, and a voucher towards the costs of milk, vegetables and fruit. Apply for healthy start vouchers.
Food and Fun – SHEP
This is a free scheme held in school holidays and includes childcare, activities and meals for children during the holidays in their own school. Please contact your school to see if they run the scheme.
Breakfast clubs
Breakfast clubs offer a free, healthy breakfast in some schools. Please contact your own school to see if they have a free breakfast club.
Tips to Save Money On Food Bills
- Make a budget and stick to it
- Check your cupboards and fridge before you shop and write a list
- Swap ingredients and food if they have increased in price
- Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry
- Bulk buy if you can
- Fruit and veg that are in season are usually cheaper
- Use frozen fruit and veg
- Choose cheaper cuts of meat- but remember you may need to change the way you cook it. Cheaper cuts tend to need longer, slower cooking methods
- Don’t throw away stalks of broccoli or cauliflower, they can be cut into thin strips and cooked- just trim off any woody bits
- If you always cook too much rice and pasta, freeze the extra.
- Regrow lettuce from stalks- put the stalk in a container of water in a sunny place
- Use a rolling pin to squish the last remains out of tubes
- Don’t put the oven on for one item
- Use lids on saucepans
- Only boil as much water in the pan as you need, don’t overfill
- Use by dates are there for safety and should always be followed as the food may be dangerous to eat past these dates.
- Best before dates just tell you when a food may not be as good quality, but is still safe to eat.
