The Trussell Trust - Plymouth

Food banks provide a minimum of three days' emergency food to people in crisis, along with additional support.

Food banks work with frontline professionals to identify people who need support and give them a food bank voucher. These professionals include local agencies like children's centres, housing associations, advice charities, and mental health teams, who are best placed to assess need.

Once someone has been referred, they can exchange their voucher at their nearest food bank for an emergency food parcel containing a minimum of three days' nutritionally balanced food.

Food banks are designed to provide short-term, emergency support with food during a crisis. They aim to relieve that immediate pressure by providing food, but they also offer additional support so that people don't need to use the food bank again in the future.

How to get help from a food bank

If you're in a financial crisis and live in England or Wales, please call 0808 2082138 for free (open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.) to talk confidentially to a trained Citizens Advice adviser. They will talk to you about the problems you're facing and provide support to help you manage your money, navigate the benefits system, and identify any other grants you might be entitled to. If you need one, they'll issue you a food bank voucher so you can get an emergency food parcel.

Find out more 

What We Do

• How food banks work
• Additional support
• Real Stories
• Social Enterprises

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How food banks work

Foodbanks provide emergency food to people in crisis. Every day, people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. A simple box of food makes a big difference, with food banks helping prevent crime, housing loss, family breakdown, and mental health problems.

Food is donated

Schools, churches, businesses, and individuals donate non-perishable, in-date food to a foodbank. Large collections often take place as part of Harvest Festival celebrations, and food is also collected at supermarkets.

Food is sorted and stored

Volunteers sort food to check that it's on date and pack it into boxes ready to be given to people in need. Over 40,000 people give up their time to volunteer at food banks.

Professionals identify people in need

Foodbanks partner with a wide range of care professionals, such as doctors, health visitors, social workers, and police, to identify people in crisis and issue them a foodbank voucher.

People receive food

Foodbank clients bring their voucher to a foodbank centre, where it can be redeemed for three days' emergency food. Volunteers meet clients over a warm drink or free hot meal and are able to signpost people to agencies able to solve the longer-term problem.

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