Community Food Provision
Sheffield is home to a unique mosaic of food provision that ranges from food banks to community pantries and social eating spaces. You can find out all about different options and where to access food on this page.
Food For the City
All of the city’s food organisations, projects and spaces play an important role in building local-level resilience to food insecurity.
Food insecurity can be a crisis situation where access to emergency, free food is needed. However, it might also look like worrying about having enough to eat or having trouble meeting dietary or cultural food preferences. Food insecurity can affect anyone, and it is not a sign of any personal failings.
Even for those who are not experiencing food insecurity, Sheffield’s food initiatives can provide vitally important opportunities for social connection, improved well-being, or simply the chance to support your wider community.
Latest News & Events
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Sheffield Food Provision Map
The map below shows free or low-cost community food services within Sheffield It includes a variety of organisations, such as food banks, food pantries and social eating spaces.
The map is live and a work in progress. Use the filters on the left-hand side to search for specific areas and attendance costs.
Resources
Access Food
- Community Food Provision in Sheffield Leaflet – Providing food for people in Sheffield
- Sheffield Food Bank Network
- Sheffield Food Provision Map –– VAS
- Sheffield Living Crisis Map of Support – VAS
- Sheffield S6 Foodbank
- Olio – Olio is an app where people give away food and other items for free. It is free to use but you have to arrange your own collections. You can download it here: Olio – Your Local Sharing App (olioapp.com)
- Bags of Taste – Bags of Taste run free cooking courses. They deliver free ingredients and cooking equipment to your front door. They guide you through a recipe over the phone or in a WhatsApp group and also offer budgeting advice. It’s a great way to improve your cooking, eat a free meal, and be part of a community. Sign up here: Bags of Taste – Join our Mentored Home Cooking Programme.
- Too Good to Go is an app where you can pay a reduced price for leftover food from local supermarkets, restaurants and cafes. It is free to use but you must arrange your own collections. You can download the app here: Join Our Food Waste Movement – Too Good To Go
Food Provision/Access Explained
- Food Ladders Explained – Sustainable Food Places
- Food Bank: A food bank provides free food packages to people in crisis. The food packages may also contain toiletries and other essential items.
- Social Eating Space: A social eating space provides a free or low-cost hot meal. This is eaten with the community in a welcoming environment.
- Reduced Cost Shop: A food market where anyone can shop for food at a reduced or pay-as-you-can price.
- Food Pantry: A food pantry is a membership-based food club where members can shop for food at a reduced price.
- Community Fridge: A community fridge is a shared fridge where people in the local community can collect food for free, and/or leave food for others.
- Community Garden: A community garden is a space where people in the local community can grow food together. The locally grown food can often be taken by members of the local community for free.
- Food Delivery: Food delivery is when organisations deliver food or ready meals to your home address for free or at a reduced cost.
Success in Sheffield So Far…
While our goal is about moving forward, it’s also important to celebrate the fantastic work that has been achieved so far for food provision in our city.
- Sheffield City Council passed the Food Access Plan in July 2022, which included investment for a food community development role at Voluntary Action Sheffield to provide advice and support in community food spaces.
- Food Works is collaborating with over 25 partner hubs to distribute frozen-ready meals across the city.
- The Food Ladders Report (2022) mapped food provision in Sheffield and outlined recommendations to build and develop current projects. In addition, a comprehensive, interactive map of food providers in the city is now available through Voluntary Action Sheffield.
- The Food Ladders Network responded quickly to Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis. Successful collective food stores, organised through Sheffield City Council via S6 Foodbank, ensured supplies for community food organisations during winter 2023/24.
- The Food Ladders Network, comprising community food organisations, meets regularly for support and to share resources.
Join Our Working Group
Our Community Food Provision working group brings together people and organisations who believe:
- Everyone in the city, particularly those in crisis, should be able to access culturally appropriate and nutritious food in their local community;
- Organisations should feel empowered to combine food provision with social connection and other crucial support, such as debt and housing advice, ultimately eradicating poverty in the city.
If you’d like to get involved or learn more, please come to one of our working group events or get in contact with the team using the form below.
Next Event
Community Food Provision Meeting – June 2024
Please join us as we reflect on the Local Food Action Plan, discuss ShefFood’s mapping projects, and celebrate social eating spaces across the city. This