Cost of living support and advice

These are the services that are helping all kinds of people in Kingston every day, with free emergency food supplies. 

For somewhere to go every day of the week, you can get the Hot Food, Hot Drinks, Community Places downloadable Leaflet

Kingston Foodbank

Kingston Foodbank is provided in partnership with The Trussell Trust. 

The Foodbank provides three days’ of nutritionally-balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred in a crisis. 

Everyone who comes to the foodbanks for emergency food needs to have a valid foodbank voucher. You can obtain vouchers from organisations listed on the Kingston Foodbank website.

There are five foodbanks across the borough and at least one is open each day Monday to Friday. 

Monday 6 to 7pm
Surbiton New Life Baptist Church, Balaclava Road, KT6 5PW

Tuesday and Friday 11am to 12.30pm
Kingston Everyday Church, Union Street, KT1 1RP

Wednesday 9 to 10am
Chessington - The Kings Centre, Coppard Gardens, KT9 2GZ

Thursday 10am to 12 noon
New Malden Baptist Church, Westbury Road, KT3 5BC

Friday 10.30 to 11.30am
Tolworth Recreation Centre, Fullers Way North, KT6 7LS

Full details of all Kingston Foodbank locations and opening times are on the Kingston Foodbank website or you can call 020 8391 1100.

Getting Foodbank Vouchers

Everyone who comes to the foodbanks for emergency food needs to have a valid foodbank voucher. 

1. For information on how to be referred and get vouchers organisations are listed on the Kingston Foodbank website.
2. Kingston Council’s Financial Inclusion Team can provide referral and vouchers - just contact us by phone or email  financialinclusion@kingston.gov.uk or call 020 8547 5591.

Other community foodbanks and emergency food

There are several other community based foodbanks that provide emergency food support.

Save the World Club www.savetheworldclub.org

From their base at 18 Southsea Rd, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 2EH, volunteers at Save the World Club collect surplus food from retailers every evening to redistribute to those in need. 

If you or someone you know needs emergency food, fill out the form on their website.
You can also find out about all their other amazing community initiatives on their website. 

Dons Local Action https://donslocalaction.org

Dons provide one-week food parcels to residents on referral from social services, GPs, housing associations, schools and many other local organisations. 

To find out more, go to Dons website, contact by email info@donslocalaction.org or call their helpline: 0203 301 4511

Community Pantries, Fridges, Cafes and Lunches

Since last winter, Kingston’s communities have stepped up to provide support all over the borough. A full list and map of organisations and locations across the borough can now be found on the Connected Kingston website.

NHS Healthy Start 

A Healthy Start Card will help with buying healthy food and milk. You may be eligible if you are more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4 years old and are in receipt of certain benefits (see below). 

Around one third of residents in Kingston who are eligible for Healthy Start are not claiming this benefit every month - that means hundreds of thousands of ££s not claimed this year alone. 

What you could get:

• £4.25 for an expectant mother from the 10th week of pregnancy
• £8.50 each week for a baby from birth to 1 year old
• £4.25 each week for a child from 1 to 4 years old

The Healthy Start Card is credited with your entitlement and topped up automatically every 4 weeks, so a family with one child under 1 year and two children under 4 could get £68 a month credited to their Healthy Start card. 

Eligibility

You must be receiving any of the following:

• Child Tax Credit
• Income support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension credit
• Universal credit.

For more information visit www.healthystart.nhs.uk/