Food support

Here you will find information to help signpost you to the different types of food support.

An introduction to food support
Food Banks, Food Clubs and Community Supermarkets
Free School Meals and Free Milk
Healthy and affordable recipes
Healthier Options Takeaways (HOT)
Too Good To Go
Love Food, Hate Waste
Social Eating Opportunities
Healthy Start vitamins and food support
Holiday Activities and Food (HAF)

An introduction to food support

With cost of living challenges, more people than ever have been using food banks and other food support to help their food budget stretch a little further, whilst also trying to eat a healthy diet. In Nottinghamshire there are lots of services, such as food banks, food distribution schemes (food clubs), community supermarkets, social eating groups and the Council’s School Meals Service, which provides free school meals to almost 24,000 children and young people.

The Trussel Trust is responsible for nearly half the food banks in Nottinghamshire reported an 81 percent increase in people needing support from food banks at the end of March 2020 compared with the same time in 2019 with demand for food parcels from families with children increasing by 12 percent.

To find out more, vist The Trussel Trust website.

In 2019/20 14% of children in Nottinghamshire were living in low income families and although that is less than the national figure of 19.3%, we know that this is almost 5 children in a class of 30. We also know that lone parents families, black and minority ethnic families, older people, people with disabilities and people without their own transport are more likely to experience food poverty.

Food Banks, Food Clubs and Community Supermarkets

Food banks are a bit like supermarkets, but everything is free. They are for people who struggle to afford to buy enough food to eat and also provide basic items such as soap, toilet paper and sanitary products.
Some food banks are developing into Community Supermarkets, where rather than everything being free, items are offered at a much reduced cost.

Find a list of Food banks in Nottinghamshire take a look at Food banks (Directory listings)Updated link needed

Food clubs

We have lots of Food clubs available for eligible Nottinghamshire families to view them go to Food clubs (Directory listing) Updated link needed

Free School Meals and Free Milk

Free School Meals and Free Milk service, provides healthy nutritious meals and are a great way to keep children fit and strong. Packed with fresh and tasty, locally sourced ingredients, they meet high standards including many strictly regulated food assurance schemes. Vegetarian options and special diets and allergies are also catered for.

All pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in state-funded schools are entitled to receive a free school meal. Parents who receive qualifying benefits should still register for free school meals, as the school is able to claim Pupil Premium, which it uses towards enrichment and learning opportunities.

To apply and find out more in Nottinghamshire go to Free School Meals and Free Milk (Nottinghamshire County Council) or

To apply and find out more in Nottingham City go to Support and Benefits for Children at School (Nottingham City Council)

For those unable to apply online they can phone 0300 500 80 80

Free milk is available for:

children under the age of five in school or daycare
children receiving free school meals. The eligibility criteria for free milk entitlement is exactly the same as for free school meals. Where local authorities or schools provide milk, it must be free to children whose parents get the same support payments as for free school meals.

Healthy and affordable recipes

Nottinghamshire School Meals service have lots of ideas for healthy and affordable meals with easy to follow recipes for the whole family.

Visit: Nottinghamshire School Meals Recipes (Nottinghamshire County Council)

An example of a healthy recipe is this firework rocket fruit kebab.

Learn how to make this healthy fruit snack in the shape of a firework rocket in this 2-minute video (there's also a firework milk experiment at 1-minute 24 seconds)

Your Health Notts

Commissioned by Nottinghamshire County Council as a resources for helping you to have a Healthy Lifestyle. Your Health Notts, have a team of professionals who will work collaboratively with you to create a tailored plan that suits your unique needs and lifestyle. The goal is to provide you with the tools and resources you need to make informed decisions about your health and well-being.

Visit, Your Health Notts

Learn the recipe for Steak and sweet potato fries, produced by Your Health Notts in this 1-minute video.

For more great recipes ideas take a look at Your Notts Health recipes

Tom Kerridge has, low-cost and easy-to-make recipes and instructional videos aimed at families to help tackle child food poverty so that "No child should ever go to bed hungry"

Visit, Full Time Meals with Tom Kerridge (facebook)

Eat Well Early Years Recipe Book

Here are some simple ideas for cost-effective recipes for the whole family, using minimal cooking equipment and skills. The recipes show appropriate portion sizes for a main meal (or dessert) for infants, children aged 1to 4 years, children aged 5 to 11 years and for adults and older children. The recipes all use ingredients that can be purchased with Healthy Start vouchers.

Download, Eating well recipe book [PDF]

Breakfast recipe ideas from Family Action

Our friends at Family Action, have put together some breakfast ideas. They’re sure to get your taste buds tingling!

Find them at Breakfast recipe ideas Family Action [PDF]

Allergies: We know that parents/carers of children with food allergies and intolerances are really careful about which food and ingredients they buy for their families. Responsibility for making sure appropriate substitutes in these recipes of known allergens lies with the parent/carer.

Healthier Options Takeaways (HOT)

HOTs are committed to offering healthier ways of preparing, cooking or serving food and drink to their customes.

The scheme, run by Nottinghamshire County Council and District and Borough Council partners, is aiming to increase the amount and variety of healthier options in takeaways across Nottinghamshire.

You can find a participating HOT provider near you by searching the going to the directory.

Visit, HOT directory (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Too Good To Go

Too Good To Go is a free app that helps reduce food waste by offering unsold food from local shops, cafés and supermarkets at a lower price.

You browse the app for nearby “Surprise Bags,” reserve one, pay through the app, and collect it during a set time slot. Each bag contains surplus items the business didn’t sell that day, so contents will vary.

Surprise Bags can vary in contents and may not meet dietary needs. Availability depends on daily surplus, and you must collect your bag at the stated time.

Visit the Too Good To Go website to find out more.

Love Food, Hate Waste

We all want to do our best to save money and using up left overs is a good way of making our money and our food shop go that little bit further. It is also better for the environment so it's a win, win!

Working with Nottinghamshire residents Veolia and Nottinghamshire County Council have produce a sustainable cookery book. Local people share their top tips for using up leftovers and their favourite recipes for making the most of seasonal ingredients.

Download, Love your leftovers cook book [PDF] (Veolia Nottinghamshire)

Get more ideas with thes seasonal recipe cards, to help reduce food waste.

Visit, Love your leftovers seasonal recipe cards (Veolia Nottinghamshire)

Here are a few tips to make you food last longer.

Learn how to freeze cheese in this 30-second video

For more food saving tips take a look at:

There is a growing number of places in Nottinghamshire where Social Eating sessions take place. This is where a meal is available at little or no cost. It is often staffed by volunteers and run by local charities or churches and provides a great opportunity for people to get together to enjoy good food and company. To find your nearest, go to Notts Church and Community Map of Social Eating

Places of Welcome

Are a network of community groups providing places for everyone to feel safe, connected and able to contribute. They run at the same time every week and offer a cup of tea/coffee and a biscuit. They can be found in churches, libraries, pubs and community centres hosted by volunteers who also provide some local information.

The best place to find out where they are is to use this Places of Welcome (PoW) interactive map

Healthy Start Vitamins and Food Support

Healthy Start is a national scheme providing vitamins and support with food for pregnant women and families with children under four who are on benefits and low incomes.

Find out more on our Healthy Start page.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF)

Holiday activities and food

The Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) aims to support the wellbeing of children aged between 5 to 16 years by providing a variety of activities and food during school holidays. We offer activities and food during Spring (Easter), Summer, Autumn (October) and Winter (Christmas) holidays across the county.

Free activities and food are available to 5 to16 year olds receiving benefits related free school meals. To find out more, go to Holiday activities and food (Nottinghamshire County Council)

To find out about eligibility, contact us on 0300 500 80 80