Emergency Food: How to Get a Food Bank Voucher

If you find yourself in an immediate crisis and cannot afford to buy food, emergency food banks are there to support you. The largest network of food banks in the UK is run by the **Trussell Trust**, alongside hundreds of independent community food larders and soup kitchens.

Most formal food banks do not operate on a drop-in basis. To receive an emergency food parcel, you will need to be referred by a local partner organisation and issued a **food bank voucher**.

Food banks partner with local frontline professionals who can assess your situation and issue a voucher. You can get a referral from:

• Advice Services: Citizens Advice, local welfare rights offices, or debt advice agencies.
• Healthcare Professionals: Your GP, a health visitor, or a community psychiatric nurse.
• Social Services: Social workers, children's centers, or local authority housing officers.
• Education: Your child's school liaison officer or headteacher.
• Charities: Local support groups, shelter workers, or crisis advocates.

To get your voucher, follow these simple steps:

1. Contact a Referrer: Get in touch with one of the professionals listed above (Citizens Advice is often the quickest point of contact if you do not have an active social worker or GP appointment).
2. Explain Your Situation: They will ask you a few quick questions about your circumstances to understand why you are in crisis (e.g., a benefit delay, sudden job loss, or an unexpected bill).
3. Receive Your Voucher: The referrer will issue you a paper voucher or send an electronic voucher code directly to your phone via SMS or email.
4. Visit the Food Bank: Take your voucher code to your local distribution center during their opening hours. They will exchange it for a three-day parcel of nutritionally balanced, non-perishable food.

A standard emergency food parcel is designed to sustain a household for at least three days. It contains long-life items such as pasta, rice, tinned vegetables, tinned meat or fish, soup, cereal, long-life milk, tea, and biscuits.

When you arrive at the food bank, volunteers will often ask if you have any dietary requirements (such as vegetarian, halal, gluten-free, or allergies) or if you have a baby and need formula or nappies. Many centers also offer basic toiletries, household cleaning products, and pet food if they have them in stock.