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Rise to the Challenge: Who Will Be Crowned the World’s Best Chelsea Bun Maker?

Dust off your mixing bowls, find the cinnamon and prepare to get sticky, because the World Chelsea Bun Awards are returning for 2026!

Now in their eighth year, the awards are hosted by Royal Warrant holder Partridges of Kensington, the family-run food shop on Gloucester Road. 

The competition brings professional bakers, enthusiastic amateurs and talented young cooks together to celebrate one of Britain’s best-loved baked treats.

This year’s theme is “Traditional Chelsea Buns Meet Innovation,” giving entrants the opportunity to respect the bun’s rich heritage while adding a little imagination of their own.

Will we see unusual spices, locally produced ingredients or unexpected flavour combinations? Or will a beautifully made traditional Chelsea bun prove impossible to beat?

Two Ways to Enter

The competition includes separate categories for professional and amateur bakers, with children under 18 also welcome to take part in the live event.

Bakers can enter through Instagram by sharing a photograph of their creation before 10am on Friday 18 September. Entries should use the hashtag #worldchelseabunawards and tag @world.chelsea.bun.awards.

Instagram entries will be judged on the appearance and overall aesthetic appeal of the finished Chelsea bun. It is therefore time to think carefully about presentation as well as baking!

Those who want the judges to taste their creations can enter the Live Competition. Buns must be delivered to the Partridges Al Fresco Terrace, 17–19 Gloucester Road, London SW7 4PL, between 10am and noon on Sunday 20 September.

Postal entries may also be accepted by prior arrangement, provided they arrive at Partridges in time.

A Festival of Food and Community

Judging will take place during the Gloucester Road “North” Autumn Street Festival on Sunday 20 September.

It promises to be a wonderfully sociable occasion where visitors can eat, shop and celebrate while supporting local independent businesses. Traders will be offering a tempting selection of food and drink, so there should be plenty to enjoy even if you are not entering the competition.

Guests will include Councillor Janet Evans, Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Judges include former chef, food business owner and television and radio presenter Mark Wogan, alongside Alice Ryan, senior editor of lifestyle magazine Velvet.

Prizes include cash awards and Partridges hampers. The overall Live Tasting Winner will receive £250 and the rather magnificent title of Best Chelsea Bun Baker 2026.

Baking for a Good Cause

Entrants are also invited to donate to Partridges’ chosen charity, React. The charity provides rapid and practical assistance to children with life-limiting illnesses living in financially disadvantaged households across the UK.

The Chelsea bun is reportedly the only bun in the world to have received a Royal Warrant, making this a very special celebration of British baking heritage.

Whether you are an experienced professional, an enthusiastic home baker or a young cook ready to demonstrate your skills, this is your chance to rise to the occasion.

Who will be crowned the world’s finest Chelsea bun maker in 2026? We cannot wait to find out!

Enter here: https://www.worldchelseabunawards.com

https://www.partridges.co.uk

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Could the Mobile Shop Be Ready for a Comeback?

There was a time when the shop came to you.

Mobile grocers, butchers, fishmongers and other travelling shops were once a familiar sight in British towns and villages. 

There were mobile fish and chip vans, delicatessens, bread vans and even shops selling household necessities including paraffin for heaters. 

Then shopping habits changed.

Supermarkets offered enormous ranges under one roof, car ownership increased and weekly supermarket shopping became normal. Later, out-of-town retail parks and online shopping put even more pressure on traditional doorstep traders.

But could the mobile shop now be ready for a comeback?

Working from home changes the equation

One important difference is the number of people who now spend at least part of their working week at home.

A mobile delicatessen arriving in a residential area at lunchtime could suddenly have dozens of potential customers who simply wouldn't have been there during the traditional working day a couple of decades ago.

Imagine a mobile bakery offering freshly baked bread, cakes and pastries pulling up at 11am. Or a travelling delicatessen selling cheeses, cooked meats, olives and locally produced foods.

Rather than driving to the supermarket, you walk 100 yards down the road.

Technology solves an old problem

Modern technology could make the business model considerably easier.

A mobile shop could announce its location and arrival time through Facebook, WhatsApp or its own app. Customers might even pre-order their groceries before the van arrives.

Contactless card readers mean traders no longer need to operate predominantly with cash, while relatively inexpensive mobile technology can handle stock control, accounting and customer loyalty schemes.

Essentially, today's mobile shop could combine an old-fashioned personal service with 21st-century technology.

Rural communities could benefit

There could be an especially important role for mobile shops in villages which have lost their local stores.

A travelling grocer carrying vegetables, milk, bread, eggs, meat and everyday essentials could provide a valuable service, particularly for older residents and people without cars.

Several specialist traders could even work together, creating a miniature travelling market visiting different communities on particular days.

Food trucks have already proved part of the idea

In some respects, mobile food retail never completely disappeared.

Ice-cream vans survived, while food trucks have become enormously popular. Farmers' markets, street-food events and pop-up businesses have also demonstrated that consumers don't necessarily require a conventional shop.

So why shouldn't the same principle work for groceries?

Picture a refrigerated mobile fishmonger visiting on Thursday, a baker on Friday morning and a cheesemonger or delicatessen on Saturday.

There might even be room for the return of the mobile fish and chip shop.

There are obstacles

It wouldn't necessarily be easy.

Fuel, vehicle purchase and maintenance, refrigeration, food hygiene requirements, licences and insurance all cost money. Finding enough customers along a route to make each stop worthwhile would be essential.

But today's trader has one enormous advantage over their predecessors: they can know who's buying before they arrive.

Pre-orders could dramatically reduce waste and allow a mobile butcher, baker, greengrocer or deli to carry exactly what customers have requested alongside stock for passing trade.

Perhaps the future looks surprisingly familiar

Retail constantly reinvents itself, but occasionally the best new idea turns out to be an old one.

At That’s Food and Drink, we'd love to see independent mobile shops appearing in our streets again – particularly if they provide opportunities for small producers and give communities another alternative to the supermarket.

Perhaps one day we'll once again hear a familiar horn outside and someone shout:

"The grocer's here!"

Would you buy from a mobile grocer, baker, butcher, fishmonger or delicatessen if one visited your street every week? And if you remember the old mobile shops, we'd love to hear what used to call in your neighbourhood.

Incidentally based not far from where we live there's a mobile bookshop!

Are There Too Many Burgers on the Menu?

There is nothing wrong with a good burger. Whether it is a classic beef burger, a crispy chicken burger or a thoughtfully made vegetarian alternative, a burger can be a satisfying and reliable choice when eating out.

In a specialist burger bar or an American-style barbecue restaurant, customers naturally expect to find an extensive selection. 

Burgers are central to the identity of such establishments, so plenty of choice makes perfect sense.

But have burgers become far too dominant on the menus of ordinary pubs, cafés and other food and drink venues?

One well-known pub chain, which shall remain nameless, currently offers no fewer than 16 different burgers. That is a remarkable amount of menu space devoted to variations on essentially the same meal: something served inside a bun, generally accompanied by chips.

Customers may be offered beef burgers with bacon, cheese, barbecue sauce, chilli, fried onions or several of those ingredients piled together. There may also be chicken, plant-based and double or triple versions. Although these dishes have different names, how much genuine variety do they really provide?

Meanwhile, many traditional favourites appear to have vanished.

Why are there so few chicken pies, ham pies or turkey pies? What happened to dishes such as ham, egg and chips, liver and onions, sausage casserole, cottage pie, Lancashire hotpot or a proper ploughman’s lunch? Even relatively simple options such as filled jacket potatoes, substantial salads and sandwiches can be surprisingly difficult to find.

Burgers undoubtedly offer practical advantages to pubs and restaurants. The ingredients can be standardised, preparation is relatively straightforward and numerous menu variations can be created from the same basic stock. They are also familiar, easy to advertise and generally popular.

However, allowing burgers to dominate a menu risks making the dining experience rather dull. Offering 16 burgers does not necessarily mean customers are being given 16 meaningfully different choices. Four or five good burgers alongside pies, casseroles, fish dishes, salads and traditional pub meals might provide much greater variety.

There is also the danger that pub menus are becoming increasingly interchangeable. When every venue offers several burgers, fried chicken, pizza and chips, much of the individual character disappears. A visitor could travel from Shropshire to Cornwall or Yorkshire and encounter almost exactly the same dishes.

Perhaps pubs should concentrate less on the number of toppings that can be squeezed into a bun and spend more time rediscovering regional dishes, traditional pies and imaginative home-style cooking.

Burgers certainly deserve a place on the menu. The question is whether they deserve quite so many places.

What do you think? Are 16 burgers excessive, or do you welcome having plenty of burger options? Which neglected pub dishes would you like to see make a comeback?

Cromwell’s Tap House, Shrewsbury. An Independent Pub Worth Seeking Out

Shrewsbury certainly isn't short of good pubs, but Cromwell’s Tap House, tucked away at 11 Dogpole, has several things going for it that make it worthy of attention from anyone who appreciates independent pubs, interesting beer and good food.

And there's rather more history behind that attractive frontage than you might initially suspect.

The building housing Cromwell's is Grade II listed and probably dates from the late 16th century. It was formerly known as the Warwick Hotel and, according to CAMRA, was originally a private house before becoming a hotel during the 1940s.

Today, however, it's an independent tap house, restaurant and hotel, and its independence is one of its most interesting features.

A free-of-tie beer selection

For us at That’s Food and Drink, one of Cromwell's biggest attractions is the beer.

CAMRA describes the pub as completely free of tie, meaning that it isn't restricted to buying its beers from one particular brewery or pub company. Consequently, its pumps can feature beers that aren't necessarily encountered elsewhere around Shrewsbury.

CAMRA says there are usually around three real ales available, sometimes including relatively unusual choices.

That's precisely the sort of independence we like to see. A modest number of well-chosen and properly looked-after cask ales can be considerably more interesting than a large row of pumps containing exactly the same nationally available beers you can find in dozens of other pubs.

The drinks offering extends beyond real ale, with Cromwell's advertising craft beers, wines and cocktails, while local and national breweries feature in its changing beer selection.

They stock Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone Lager and his Hawkstone IPA on draught. A very tasty IPA, which I was fortunate enough to try for the first time at Cromewell's Tap House.

Food that's a little more interesting

Cromwell's also takes its food seriously.

Its current menu includes homemade seasonal soup, halloumi fries with mango mayonnaise and wild mushroom, garlic and thyme bruschetta with a choice of Shropshire Blue or vegan smoked cheese.

There's also a rather tempting combination of venison and pork meatballs in tomato and basil sauce.

Even the sandwiches venture beyond the completely predictable. Options listed include a curried bacon BLT and beer-barbecue-marinated jackfruit.

It's recognisably pub food, but with enough imagination to make you stop and read the menu properly.

Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are also identified.

Don't miss the garden

One of Cromwell's less obvious attractions is hidden behind the building.

Shrewsbury and West Shropshire CAMRA describes its rear beer garden as "lovely", while Shrewsbury's official visitor guide calls the secluded garden a local favourite.

On a warm afternoon, that's another very good reason to wander up Dogpole.

An interesting alternative in a great pub town

Cromwell's isn't enormous inside, and that may actually be part of its appeal. This is an historic building rather than a cavernous modern drinking barn.

Online customer feedback is overwhelmingly favourable, particularly concerning the food, service, beer and atmosphere, although, as with virtually every pub, individual experiences inevitably vary.

What particularly appeals to us is the combination: an historic Shrewsbury building, an independent free-of-tie pub, unusual real ales, proper food and a secluded beer garden.

It's also within easy walking distance of the town centre's other excellent pubs, making Cromwell's an obvious candidate for inclusion in a Shrewsbury pub crawl, although we'd suggest taking your time rather than treating it simply as somewhere to rush in and tick off the list.

Shrewsbury has developed a deserved reputation as a destination for people who enjoy good pubs and good beer. Cromwell's demonstrates why.

Cromwell’s Tap House & Hotel

11 Dogpole

Shrewsbury

SY1 1EN

https://cromwellstaphouse.co.uk

01743 365158

That’s Food and Drink verdict: An appealing independent Shrewsbury pub with history, character, food and, most importantly for the beer enthusiast, the freedom to put something genuinely interesting on the hand pumps.

 Sometimes the best ideas for That’s Food and Drink arrive while we're eating and drinking.

My wife and I were sitting in Cromwell’s Tap House in Shrewsbury, enjoying a couple of absolutely excellent steak baguettes, when I looked around at the historic timber beams, the beer badges decorating the bar and the impressive selection of beers and thought: Why haven't we featured this place before?

So, somewhat appropriately, the idea for this review of Cromwell’s was born in Cromwell’s.

Incidentally hotel accommodation is available.

VAT’s the Problem: Why Hospitality is Campaigning for a 10% VAT Rate

Britain’s pubs, cafés, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses are being urged to unite behind a campaign calling for the VAT rate on hospitality to be cut from 20% to 10%.

The VAT’s the Problem campaign, spearheaded by chef and publican Tom Kerridge, argues that reducing VAT could give struggling hospitality businesses some much-needed breathing space while helping to protect jobs and keep our high streets and communities vibrant.

And it is a campaign that we at That’s Food and Drink believe deserves serious consideration and support.

Why 10%?

The standard UK VAT rate is currently 20%, putting British hospitality at a considerable disadvantage compared with businesses in several European countries.

The campaign points out that hospitality VAT is 10% in France, Spain and Italy, while Germany applies a rate as low as 7%. Campaigners want the UK Government to recognise the particular pressures facing hospitality and introduce a permanent 10% rate.

This isn't simply about making life easier for large restaurant or hotel chains.

Independent cafés, family restaurants, pubs, takeaways and other hospitality businesses have been dealing with substantial increases in wages, energy, ingredients, insurance and numerous other operating costs.

When one of these businesses disappears, the effects can reach much further than its owners. Staff lose jobs, suppliers lose customers and communities lose places where people meet and socialise.

Hospitality matters

We sometimes forget just how important our local pubs, cafés and restaurants are.

A café can be somewhere an older person finds companionship. A pub might provide the meeting place for local clubs, charities and fundraising events. Restaurants, hotels and bars provide employment opportunities for young people taking their first steps into working life.

Hospitality also helps make town centres worth visiting.

The VAT’s the Problem campaign argues that reducing VAT would help more venues remain open, protect employment and potentially help businesses keep prices affordable for customers. The campaign says 100,000 hospitality jobs have already disappeared during the past two years.

More than 150,000 people have already backed the campaign

At the time of writing, the campaign website reports that over 150,000 people have signed its petition, although organisers ultimately hope to attract one million signatures.

The campaign also has backing from hospitality organisations including UKHospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping.

Whether cutting VAT to 10% would ultimately result in lower prices for customers would, of course, depend upon individual businesses. Many operators might instead use the additional margin to absorb rising costs, retain staff, invest in their premises or simply remain viable.

But keeping a favourite pub, restaurant or café open is itself something worth considering.

If you agree that Britain's hospitality businesses deserve a fairer VAT settlement, you can find out more and add your name to the campaign petition at:

VAT’s the Problem – sign the petition!

What do you think? Should VAT for UK hospitality be reduced from 20% to 10%? Would it help save our pubs, cafés and restaurants? Let us know your views.

Britain’s Best Curry Chefs Compete for ARTA National Title

Some of Britain’s most talented curry chefs have put their skills to the test in the Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards (ARTA) 2026 National Chef of the Year Cook-Off Competition.

The live competition, held at Cambridge Regional College, brought together chefs representing 15 regions of the UK. Competitors were selected following more than 1,200 nominations for restaurants and takeaways nationwide.

Participating chefs were given an extensive choice of fresh ingredients, including king prawns, rack of lamb, chicken, sea bream, seasonal vegetables, pulses, herbs and spices.

This freedom allowed each chef to demonstrate their knowledge of ingredients, technical ability, adaptability and creativity while working under the pressure of a professional competition kitchen.

Judges assessed the chefs on hygiene, technique, creativity, use of ingredients, presentation, flavour, texture, appearance and aroma.

Fifteen regions represented

The competing restaurants and takeaways were:

Tikka Town, Birmingham – West Midlands

Two Chefs Indian Restaurant, Weston-super-Mare – South West

The Vine Indian Cuisine, Mosborough, Sheffield – North East

Ruhit’s Indian Cuisine, London – North London

Elaichi, Carmarthen – Wales

Spice Merchants, Southsea, Portsmouth – South Central

Spice Village Indian Restaurant, New Ash Green – Kent

Junoon, Helsby, Frodsham – North West

Gurkha Kitchen, Ellon – Scotland

New Anarkali Indian Restaurant & Takeaway, East Molesey – Surrey

Kusturi Indian Restaurant, Colchester – Essex

Bangla, Bangor – Northern Ireland

Aroma Lounge, Hatfield – Hertfordshire

Jomidar Mahal, Littleport, Cambridge – East Anglia

Spices of Paradise, Bedford – East Midlands

The judging panel included culinary educators, experienced restaurateurs and professional chefs from Cambridge Regional College and the wider hospitality industry.

Executive chef and ARTA judge Chad Rahman praised the unusually diverse selection of ingredients, saying it gave competitors the freedom to show how they combined flavours and adapted under pressure.

Graham Taylor, Assistant Head of Department and Commercial Lead at Cambridge Regional College, said there had been a noticeable improvement in food safety, core culinary skills and the fluidity with which chefs worked in the kitchen.

Students from Cambridge Regional College also joined the event, preparing and serving lobster for competitors and guests. Their involvement helped bring established industry professionals together with the next generation of culinary talent.

Dr Mohammed Munim, founder and chairman of ARTA, said Asian restaurants and takeaways had made an extraordinary contribution to British food culture, employment, entrepreneurship and communities.

Now in its seventh year, ARTA is widely deARTscribed as the “Oscars of the Curry Industry”. Its judging considers food and service quality, value for money, hygiene standards and customer feedback posted through Google and Tripadvisor.

The identity of the National Chef of the Year remains a closely guarded secret. The winner will be revealed at the ARTA Grand Finale and Gala Evening at the London Hilton on Park Lane on Monday, 12 October 2026.

Difficult Growing Season Could Cut UK Carrot Yields by Up to 30%. Warning

British carrot growers are warning of 'significantly reduced yields' following an exceptionally hot and dry growing season.

The British Carrot Growers Association (BCGA) estimates this season’s carrot yields could be between 15% and 30% below expectations. Some crops have been particularly badly affected in areas where irrigation water has been restricted or supplies have run out.

The problems began during heatwaves in May and June, when unusually high temperatures affected crops at the crucial germination stage. Newly germinated carrots were killed in some fields, leaving growers with little choice but to sow them again.

Re-drilling brings additional costs for seed, labour, machinery and fuel. Because the replacement crops were planted later than originally planned, they are also unlikely to reach their anticipated yields.

Further periods of extreme heat and prolonged dry weather increased the pressure. Growers have had to irrigate their fields more frequently than usual to protect both the size and quality of the crop. This has led to substantially higher bills for water, diesel, labour and equipment.

Rodger Hobson, Chair of the British Carrot Growers Association, described it as an extraordinarily difficult season for many producers.

He told That's Food and Drink: “We estimate carrot yields will be down by between 15% and 30%. The real concern is that growers have spent considerably more money producing considerably less crop.”

The challenges are not limited to carrots. Some British parsnip growers are reportedly expecting yields to be between 25% and 60% below forecasts, although the severity of the losses varies according to soil type and location.

The BCGA is calling for greater recognition from retailers and the wider supply chain of the exceptional costs faced by growers. British vegetable producers frequently operate on narrow margins, making it difficult for them to absorb the combined effects of reduced harvests and rising production expenses.

Although some farms and individual fields have performed better than others, the overall picture remains challenging.

The warning does not necessarily mean that carrots will disappear from supermarket shelves. However, it highlights the increasingly difficult conditions under which familiar British vegetables are being produced.

Carrots are an affordable and versatile staple in many households, used in everything from Sunday roasts and stews to soups, salads and cakes. Maintaining a sustainable domestic growing sector will require a fair balance between reasonable prices for shoppers and adequate returns for the farmers responsible for putting British produce on our tables.

britishgrowers.org

http://britishcarrots.co.uk

Food Banks Matter. And There Is No Shame in Asking for Help

Food banks perform a vital role in communities across the UK.

They provide emergency groceries and other essential items to individuals and families who might otherwise be forced to go without.

Yet some people still feel embarrassed about asking a food bank for help. They may worry that they will be judged or believe food banks are intended for somebody in circumstances more desperate than their own.

There should be no shame whatsoever in needing support. Food banks exist to help people through difficult periods, and those who use them come from every imaginable background.

Anyone Can Experience a Financial Crisis

The popular image of a food bank user does not reflect reality. Many people seeking help are employed, have worked throughout their adult lives or have previously been financially secure.

There are numerous reasons why an “ordinary” person or family might suddenly struggle to put food on the table. These include:

Redundancy, reduced working hours or the loss of overtime

A delay in receiving wages or benefit payments

Illness, disability or the need to care for a family member

An unexpected household repair or large bill

Rising rent, mortgage, energy or transport costs

Relationship breakdown, bereavement or leaving an abusive home

Having to replace an essential appliance

The additional cost of feeding children during school holidays

Becoming homeless or being placed in temporary accommodation

A fixed pension that no longer covers essential living costs

Self-employed work unexpectedly drying up

Debt repayments leaving too little money for food

Sometimes a family’s budget is so finely balanced that one unexpected expense, a broken pair of spectacles or an emergency dental treatment for example, is enough to cause a crisis. 

A broken washing machine, emergency journey, car repair or week away from work can leave somebody choosing between buying groceries, heating the home and paying the rent. The expression "heat or eat" is a genuine cause for concern for some people.

That is not a personal failure. It is a difficult situation in which practical help is needed.

Asking for Help Is a Sensible Step

Nobody should feel they must wait until the kitchen cupboards are completely empty before seeking support. Asking for help early may prevent a short-term problem from becoming a much more serious crisis.

Food bank volunteers understand that life can change quickly. Their purpose is to help, not to interrogate or judge the people who come through the door.

Different food banks have different arrangements. Some accept direct visits, while others use referrals from organisations such as Citizens Advice, schools, GPs, housing associations, community groups or local support services. Anyone unsure of what to do should contact their nearest food bank and ask how its system works.

Accepting a food parcel during a difficult week does not define a person. Nor does it mean they will always require assistance. It simply means that, at that moment, their community is helping them.

Supporting Your Local Food Bank

Food banks depend heavily upon the generosity of donors and volunteers. If you are in a position to help, contact your local food bank before shopping and ask which items are most urgently needed.

Commonly requested donations may include:

Tinned meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and soup

Pasta, rice and cooking sauces

Breakfast cereal and long-life milk

Tea, coffee and fruit squash

Biscuits and other small treats

Baby food, nappies and sanitary products

Soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toilet rolls

Pet food

Donations should be unopened, undamaged and within their use-by date. Food banks may already have plenty of certain products while running desperately short of others, so checking their current list can make every donation more useful.

Cash donations can be especially valuable because they allow food banks to purchase exactly what is required, cover operating expenses and respond quickly when stocks are low.

Giving Your Time

Volunteering is another important way to support a food bank. Volunteers may sort donations, check dates, pack parcels, collect food from supermarkets, drive deliveries, maintain stock records, welcome visitors or help with fundraising and publicity.

Not every role involves meeting food bank users directly, and opportunities may be available to suit different abilities, schedules and levels of mobility. Even a few hours occasionally could make a meaningful difference.

Food banks should not have to exist in a prosperous society, but while people are going hungry, their work remains essential. They represent communities at their most compassionate: neighbours helping neighbours through difficult days.

If you need a food bank, please use it without shame. If you can donate food, money or time, please consider doing so. Today you may be the person offering help; tomorrow, circumstances could mean that you are the one who needs it.

The married couple behind That's Food and Drink work with a local food bank and we are happy to be able to do so.

To find out about local food banks Google "food banks near my location" and check out these resources:

• Trussell food-bank finder – Enter a town, city or postcode to find nearby food banks and learn whether a voucher or referral is required.
• Independent Food Aid Network – A postcode-searchable directory of independent food-aid providers outside the Trussell network.
• Citizens Advice: Using a food bank – Explains how food banks work and how to obtain a referral. A local Citizens Advice adviser may be able to issue a food-bank voucher.
• Citizens Advice Wales – Food-bank and referral information specifically for people living in Wales.
• Advice NI Crisis Support – Northern Ireland residents can obtain advice about local food banks. Its advisers can also issue vouchers for participating food banks.
• ALISS – A Local Information System for Scotland – Search for “food bank” and enter a Scottish town or postcode to find nearby support services.
• GOV.UK local council cost-of-living support – Connects people with their council, which may offer emergency help with food and other essentials. Applicants do not necessarily need to be receiving benefits.
• FoodCycle meal finder – Not a food-bank service, but a useful directory of free community meals. Visitors can search by postcode and many meals require neither a voucher nor a referral.

Opening times, eligibility rules and referral arrangements vary. Whenever possible, telephone or email the food bank before travelling, especially when food is needed urgently.