Food and emergency supplies for residents

Cambridge Local Assistance Scheme (CLAS), funded by Cambridgeshire County Council, can also support residents in crisis by providing a CLAS award. This could be in the form of an electronic supermarket voucher. Residents can call, email or text for support. 

Alternatively, Cambridge Aid if another possibility. Cambridge and District Citizens Advice Bureau can help people access both these funds to obtain emergency food vouchers. 

Emergency supplies of food and essential baby products

We have established a hub with a small stock of emergency food and essential basic supplies for babies, in case a community action group is not able to meet an urgent need of a vulnerable family or individual. There are very limited supplies and the hub will only be able to help bridge a short-term gap, rather than provide a long-term solution. It does not replace the fantastic work our network of local foodbanks do.

This is meant as a final port of call for residents in immediate, urgent need.

If you need urgent supplies from our hub, email duty.communities@scambs.gov.uk or call 01954 713 398. This email inbox and answerphone is monitored between 9am and 5pm, 7 days a week. 

We will then discuss the request with you and the team will see whether any community support can be provided more locally.

If a local community group can’t meet an immediate or urgent need, or we assess your request as urgent and can’t make contact with your local community group, we will deliver the necessary urgent supplies. They will be free and we will aim to provide them the same day. Delivery will retain 2 metre social distancing and supplies will be left at the door for collection.

If contact could not be made immediately with a local community group coordinator, one of our officers will follow this up as soon as possible, normally within 24 hours. This will be to provide advice and agree how ongoing support can be provided locally.

What will be provided?

The box provided will include bread, UHT milk, fruit and veg. This will be supplemented with items such as pasta, rice, cereal, biscuits, tinned food and crisps where supplies are available. The supplies we have been able to secure will not be able to cater for all dietary requirements.

Contents of essential baby supplies

A small supply of nappies, baby wipes, powdered formula milk and baby food.

Priority food lots for Tesco and Iceland

We have a limited number of priority online food delivery slots from Tesco and Iceland. These are prioritised to people who cannot go food shopping due Covid-19 related reasons. To apply please complete our separate online form for priority food delivery.