Food and essentials

School holidays can put extra pressure on family budgets, the following links have helpful tips and tricks to help your money go further over the summer break.

Money Saving Central have pulled together a list of restaurants, pubs and cafes where children eat for free (or less than £1) during half terms and holidays in 2023:

Visit the Money Saving Central website ⧉

If your family is on a low income, you may also be able to access free events and activities through the Holiday Activities and Food Programme:

Holiday Activities

Infolink also provides a list of holiday activities across Suffolk

Suffolk County Council Infolink Holiday activities ⧉

The UK Debt Service have suggested a range of free (or minimal cost) activities to keep children entertained this summer:

Find out more about free or minimal cost entertainment activities for children ⧉

More information on local events and activities during school holidays can also be found on the Suffolk County Council website:

Find out more about local events and activities during school holidays ⧉

If you are in receipt of certain benefits your child may be entitled to free school meals, saving you up to £470 per year per child.

Find out more about free school meals ⧉

If you are eligible for free school meals, you will also be eligible for support in school holidays through the Holiday Activities Fund Programme.

Food banks can provide food and other essential household items like cleaning materials, toiletries and sanitary products, to people in need.

In most cases, help needs to be referred by a support organisation (for example, Citizens Advice, schools).

Other schemes - like pop-up shops and community pantries - offer heavily discounted items to those in need. No referral is needed.

There are a number of food banks within Babergh and Mid Suffolk. Suffolk InfoLink have mapped out foodbanks and pantries across the county ⧉

If you are in immediate need, please contact us. We may be able to make a referral for you.

Free menstrual products

Many libraries in Suffolk offer free menstrual products to those who need them.

Healthy Start vouchers

Healthy Start provides vouchers for pregnant women, and for families with a child under the age of four, who are on a low income. These vouchers can be used to purchase basic food items.

Learn more about Healthy Start ⧉

The links below provide advice about how you can reduce your food bill:

• Supermarket shopping tips (from MoneySavingExpert) ⧉
• Cost of living: how to save money on your food bills (from Which?) ⧉
• How to save money on groceries and waste less (from HSBC) ⧉

Reduce food waste

• Food Savvy ⧉ is a website that provides advice about how to waste less food
• Love Food Hate Waste ⧉ is another website that provides advice about how to waste less food
• Olio ⧉ is a free app where users can give and get food for free, and borrow or lend household items
• Too Good To Go ⧉ is an app where users can buy 'Magic Bags' of food, directly from businesses, at a heavily discounted rate
• Kitche ⧉ is an app where users can find recipes according to what they already have in their cupboard