East Suffolk Council
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Food, health and other essentials
Food, health and other essentials
A complete list of available support is below. Please take the time to read it and use the links to the support you need.
If you, or someone you know, need help with accessing advice and support with the cost of living, please complete our online Community Help Hub referral form. Please note that we aim to respond to your contact within 3 working days.
Free sanitary items
No one should ever have to worry about affording essential sanitary items every month.
Our East Suffolk Period Poverty Scheme provides free sanitary items at different locations across East Suffolk to those who need it, regardless of their financial or personal circumstances. This is available to everyone, no questions asked.
Food banks
If you are struggling to buy food, you may be able to get essential supplies from a local food bank.
You may need to get a referral via East Suffolk’s Citizens Advice or from an organisation that is already supporting you, such as a charity, school or children’s centre.
However, in addition to local Good Neighbour schemes and other local support, some food banks accept self-referrals.
Visit Suffolk InfoLink to see the full list of available food banks.
Free school meals
If you, or your child, receive certain benefits, you may be eligible for free school meals from Year 3 and above. Check now with Suffolk County Council.
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are eligible for free school meals regardless of household income.
Check if you have an exemption from paying NHS costs
You might be able to get free NHS prescriptions, dental treatment and help with other NHS costs if you have certain medical conditions or are claiming certain benefits. Use the NHS England tool to check.
Save money on your NHS prescriptions
If you know you have to pay for a lot of NHS prescriptions, it may be cheaper to buy an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate, which covers all your NHS prescriptions, including NHS dental prescriptions, no matter how many items you need. Buy an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate.
Apply for the NHS Low Income Scheme
If you are on a low income, the NHS Low Income Scheme could help you pay for NHS prescriptions, NHS dental treatment, sight tests, glasses and contact lenses, travelling to receive NHS treatment and NHS wigs and fabric support.
Get help to buy food and milk
Healthy Start is an NHS scheme that helps women who are pregnant or have young children and are receiving benefits, buy foods such as milk and fruit.
Understanding food labels
Do you know the difference between ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ dates? Many of us don’t and wrongly throw away food that is still edible, wasting both money and food.
‘Best before’ is used on foods with a longer shelf-life, such as pasta, tinned foods and cereal. If stored correctly, this food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best. It is always best to use your eyes and nose to check it before eating.
‘Use by’ is used on foods that go off quickly, such as meat and ready to eat meals. You can eat these foods until and on the ‘use by’ date, but not after as this could be unsafe, even if it has been stored correctly and it looks and smells fine.
A lot of foods, including meat and milk, can be frozen before the ‘use by’ date though, so planning ahead will help avoid food waste.
Saving money on your food shopping
With food prices on the rise, you may be looking for ways to cut down your grocery bill. There are some simple things you can do to save on your food shop and create less waste at the same time.
Visit Love Food Hate Waste to start saving.
Storing food correctly
Storing food in the right place can make it last longer and taste better.
Visit Food Savvy to learn more about storing your food right and making the most of your freezer.
Try batch cooking
Batch cooking means you can prepare ahead and reduce food waste, saving you both time and money. It is also a great way to make sure you have healthy meals ready when you don’t have time to cook.
Visit Food Savvy for tips on how to make food prep easier to save money on your food.
Free food sharing app
Neighbours and local businesses can share surplus food rather than throw it away by signing up to Olio, a free food and drink sharing app.
Here you can find anything from local businesses which is nearing its sell-by date, spare home-grown vegetables, breads from your local baker or even groceries from your neighbours’ fridge - all for free.
Discounted food sharing app
Every day, delicious, fresh food goes to waste at food businesses and manufactures because it hasn’t been sold in time, despite still being perfectly edible.
The free Too Good to Go app helps cut costs and food waste by connecting communities with local businesses, offering these leftovers in ‘magic bags’ at discounted prices so it gets eaten instead of wasted.
Costing around £2 - £4, a ‘magic bag’ is usually worth at least three times as much at full price. You won’t know what’s in your order until you pick it up though.
Keep track of your food
Have you ever gone grocery shopping but forgot what food you’ve already got at home? Keeping track of your food and using it before it goes off is a great way to save money and reduce your food waste.
Kitche is a free smart kitchen app that is designed to help you do just that with helpful reminders and recipe ideas based on what you’ve already got, so you’ll never be stuck for meal ideas again.
Compare grocery prices
Join Trolley to compare 15+ supermarkets, discover daily deals and create smart shopping lists to save on your next grocery trip.
Waste less, save more
Get discounted shopping essentials as well as health, beauty and pet products with Approved Food who specialises in surplus and short-dated stock and food that is either near or just past its ‘best before’ date.
Track, organise and manage the food in your home
Join No Waste to easily check what food you have left, see what food you need to use first, plan your meals, create a shopping list, avoid unnecessary purchases, reduce food waste and save money.
Budget recipes
BBC Good Food have put together a collection of recipes that can be made for less than £1 per portion.
Healthy family recipes
Simple recipes from Henry to prepare quick, balanced family meals.