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Help and advice

We can offer a range of advice and support at the East Lothian Foodbank. Including money advice, benefit checks, guidance on social security payments, and debt and housing support.

Also check what other support you may be entitled to, or support services in your local area.

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Get emergency food Referral Agencies Additional support

East Lothian Foodbank and our support services are here to help, acting with respect and without judgement.

Get emergency food

If you need help, we can provide an emergency food parcel. We can help you find out where to get a food voucher for emergency food.

Get emergency food
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Our foodbank works using a referral system

In order to provide support for your circumstances, we work with a range of local agencies across East Lothian to ensure you receive the best support and advice you need.

Referral Agencies

When you speak to one of our partners they will take some details from you to make a referral to us. This will help them to identify the cause of your crisis and offer practical guidance. It also means we are able to prepare suitable emergency food for the right number of people, take into account any special dietary requirements and may also provide long-term support to help address some of the issues behind the reasons for your crisis.

If you’re not sure who you can ask for a referral, here is a list of some of the agencies we work with. Once they’ve made the referral to us, we’ll be in touch to confirm details with you and organise your parcel.

Haddington Citizens Advice Bureau

01620 824 471

46 Court Street
Haddington EH41 3NP

Musselburgh Citizens Advice Bureau

0131 653 2748

Fisherrow Centre, South Street
Musselburgh EH21 6AT

East Lothian Council Tenancy Support

01620 827827

If you are an East Lothian Council tenant, this service is free to use and can help support you to receive a food bank referral.

East Lothian Council Social Work Services

01875 824309

 

Volunteer Centre East Lothian (VCEL)

01875 615423

55 High Street
Tranent EH33 1HH

Other ways to get a referral

Other Partners

We work with a range of partners across East Lothian who are able to make referrals to us. We encourage everyone to work with the agency that offers the right support for you, therefore most of these agencies will be able to provide a food bank referral.

 

These include: GPs, Local Councillors, NHS mental health teams, NHS substance use teams, East Lothian Council and justice services, family agencies and school practitioners. 

Additional support

Find out which additional support you may be eligible for and how we can help.

Our Money Advice Service

We offer our own money advice service within the food bank. If you have had a food bank referral recently, we can refer you on to our financial advisers to chat about what extra financial support you may be eligible for. These advisers work for us, through the Musselburgh Citizens Advice Bureau. They can help to - check which benefits you are entitled to and help you to apply, help to manage debts, and housing issues.

East Lothian Council

East Lothian Council offers a range of advice services, agency partners and welfare support. Take a look and see what you may be entitled to.

VCEL Locator

The Volunteer Centre has created a searchable map that displays third sector services and activities throughout East Lothian. It provides easy access to essential information and support services.

The Scottish Welfare Fund

Scottish Welfare Fund provides a safety net for people on low incomes. This is a discretionary scheme which means it provides grants that do not have to be repaid. They can offer two types of grants - a crisis grant and a community care grant.

01620 828790

Eastspace

Eastspace is an online space for mental health and wellbeing information in East Lothian. They provide information about local mental health and wellbeing services and support and aims to promote positive mental health and wellbeing, through connecting people to local activities and places.