FOODBANK
SU FOOD BANK
The Students' Union Food Bank is open to any UOS student who needs some extra help to afford food essentials, all you need to do is reach out to a member of our friendly SU advice team who will set up a referral for you, and arrange a time where you can come and collect your food parcel from the SU discreetly, alongside helpful advice and signposting to other services that can help you. The SU Foodbank is for Ipswich campus based students.
Please note: to make a foodbank referral from Friday 11 April - Wednesday 23 April 2025 please email: su.advice@uos.ac.uk
External Food Banks
Food banks are community organisations there to support people who cannot afford the essential items. If you need any additional support, you can contact one of the local food banks below:
Ipswich
Citizens Advice Bureau
19 Tower Street, Ipswich
Tel: 0808 278 7867 9am-5pm Monday-Friday
advice@ipswichcab.org.uk
If you call or email the CAB, they can refer you to FIND.
BME African Food Pantry
17 Tower Street, Ipswich
You can email them for a referral at: info @bmesuffolk.org / 07492 691190
BSSG, support for Black and Minorities ethnics in Northwest Ipswich. (bmesuffolk.org)
Ipswich Top Up Shops
You can pop into the Top up shops without a referral. They provide affordable food (£2 a bag) to top up your cupboards and a friendly face:
For more details visit: Home | Ipswich Top Up Shops
All Hallows Church, Landseer Road, Ipswich - Tuesdays 9.30am-10.30am (1.5 miles from UOS)
St Francis Church, Hawthorne Drive, Ipswich - Saturdays 10am -11am (2.4 miles from UOS)
The Triangle Church, Dickens Road, Ipswich - Wednesdays 9.30am-10.30am (2 miles from UOS)
St Matthews Church, Portman Road, Ipswich - Thursdays 9am-10.00am (2 miles from UOS)
St Mary Le Tower, Tower Street - Wdenesdays 9.00am-10.00am (opening soon)
Whitton Parish Church - Wednesday 11.30am-1pm and 2.30pm
St. Peter's, Stoke Park - Wednesday 1.30pm-2.30pm
St. Thomas, Bramford Lane - Thursdays 11.00am-12.00pm
Safe Harbour Church (St. Helen's )- Thursdays 1.30pm-2.30pm
St John's, Cauldwell Hall Road - Wednesday 2.00pm-3.00pm
St. Michaels & All Angels Church, Martlesham – every second Sunday 1pm
Felixstowe
Basic Life Pop up Shops
Trimley Welcome Hall – Mondays from 11am
St. Philips Hall, Wadgate Road, Felixstowe – Tuesdays 11am
St. Pauls Church, Church Road, Old Felixstowe – Thursdays 11am
Newmarket
Basic Life Pop up Shops
The Racing Centre, Newmarket – Thursday 11am
Colchester
Trussell Trust
Colchester Foodbank
3 Tollgate Retail Park
Colchester
01206 621998
info@colchester.foodbank.org.uk
How to get help | Colchester Foodbank
Lowestoft
Trussell Trust
Lowestoft Foodbank
Lowestoft community church
8 Hadenham Road
Lowestoft
07307866146
info@lowestoft.foodbank.org.uk
How to get help | Lowestoft Foodbank
Haverhill
Haverhill Foodbank
Reach resource centre
Gloucester Road
Haverhill
01440 712950
Haverhill Foodbank - The Trussell Trust
admin@norwich.foodbank.org.uk
info@reachhaverhill.org.uk
Norwich
Trussell Trust
Norwich Foodbank
Henderson business centre
51 Ivy Road
Norwich
0300 365 1123
Norwich Foodbank - The Trussell Trust
admin@norwich.foodbank.org.uk
Thetford
Trussell Trust
Thetford Foodbank
The Hub (Church of the Nazarene)
Croxton Road
Thetford
Thetford Foodbank - The Trussell Trust
0844 288 9618 (Not manned – leave a message and contact telephone number)
info@thetford.foodbank.org.uk
Find a foodbank
https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/
https://fareshare.org.uk/getting-food/
Other cost-of-living support
The following website, 'Suffolk Info Link', lists a wide-range of links to community and government services, offering support from help towards paying bills and groceries to tips and strategies to cut costs and reduce watse:
Suffolk InfoLink | Cost of living support in Suffolk
Warm banks
Just as community food banks provide emergency food parcels to people facing financial difficulty, a 'warm bank’ will give those finding it difficult to afford the cost of home heating somewhere to go during times of cold weather. These ‘Warm Banks’, providing some respite from the cold, include Libraries, art galleries, community buildings and places of worship.
Suffolk Libraries provides some cost-of-living support, which includes warm banks within its libraies across the county. Please see below for a link to their website, which also details other support that can be accessed through this community service:
Warm Welcome | Suffolk Libraries
The following website 'The Rural Coffee Caravan', provides an interactive map, showing the location of warm banks throughout Suffolk, as well as other community based services that may be of intererst.
Map - The Rural Coffee Caravan
Please see below for a link to the Ipswich Borough Council webpage, outlining cost-of-living support for local residents:
Cost of Living support | Ipswich Borough Council
Ipswich Borough Council has also produced the following handy leaflet, which includes useful information and links to support services in the local area, that can help with cost of living pressures.
cost_of_living_support_leaflet_0.pdf (ipswich.gov.uk)
ENERGY BILLS
The Surviving Winter Appeal provides financial support to help people towards the cost of their winter energy bills. Please see below for a link to their website and details of how to apply for a grant towards your energy bill:
Surviving Winter Appeal - Suffolk Community Foundation (suffolkcf.org.uk)
To receive individual support from the SUFFOLK COST OF LIVING SURVIVING WINTER APPEAL, wherever you are in Suffolk, you will need to contact Citizen’s Advice Ipswich on T. 01473 298634.