Get help with food and daily essentials | Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Help is available if you are struggling to buy food and daily essentials for yourself and your family.

Food banks

Food banks are grassroots, community organisations aimed at supporting people who cannot afford the essentials in life. Information about food banks in the borough is included below.

Foodshare Maidenhead

Foodshare Maidenhead helps people in and around Maidenhead who are, for whatever reason, unable to feed themselves and their families properly.

Please visit Foodshare Maidenhead’s Foodbanks locations webpage for their exact location.

Please visit Foodshare Maidenhead’s website, email lester@foodshare.charity or debbie@foodshare.charity to contact them or call 01628 262711 for an emergency request.

Windsor Foodshare

Windsor Foodshare provides non-perishable food, fresh eggs, fruit, vegetables and bread and cakes to families/individuals, who would otherwise be going hungry. They work on a referral basis, all information on getting referred is available on their website.

To contact Foodshare Windsor’s please email manager@windsorfoodshare.org.uk.

West Windsor Hub

The West Windsor Hub offers many services, such as:

collecting medications from the chemists,
food shopping services,
being a friendly voice and listening ear on the end of the phone,
providing food packages and,
other interventions such as their ending holiday hunger programme.

Please visit West Windsor Hub’s website, or call 01753 342110 to contact them.

Wider discounts

Wider initiatives and schemes are available to help lower your cost of living, please see below.

Driven Forward Community Fridge

The Driven Forward Community Fridge is open Tuesday to Friday 11am to 1pm. They are not a foodbank, however, their aim is to end food going to waste by collecting good short-dated food from supermarkets and redistributing it at their shop. You must wear a mask on entry, and there is a minimum donation of £2.

Please visit the Driven Forward Community Fridge’s website or email driven.forward@outlook.com to contact them.

TV Licencing support

TV Licencing offer a range of payment plans to help eligible customers spread the cost of a TV licence, these include monthly or quarterly direct debits, or a TV Licensing payment card (which enables eligible customers to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly online, via text or call, on the TVL Pay app, or at any PayPoint outlet).

Their most affordable option is the Simple Payment Plan, which was designed especially for those in financial difficulty. If you qualify, you can choose either a fortnightly or monthly payment plan that spreads the cost of a licence over 12 months.

The Simple Payment Plan also offers flexibility if a payment is missed, as it can be spread across the remainder of the plan instead of having to pay double the amount next time.

You may be eligible to join if you meet one of the following criteria:

have been visited by a TV Licensing Enquiry Officer to check if you need a licence.
have previously held a licence that was cancelled within the last six months because of missed payments.
are experiencing financial difficulties and are referred by a not-for-profit money advice organisation. TV Licensing accept referrals from not-for-profit organisations such as charities or local authority money advice departments, but not from commercial organisations.
have held a Simple Payment Plan licence within the previous 12 months.

For further information on concessions available and how to apply for these can be found on the TV licensing website along with a wide range of FAQs.

You can contact TV Licencing on their Contact Us webpage.

Resident’s parking discount scheme

As a resident, you are entitled to one hour’s free parking in six popular carparks. For more information, including how to apply, please see our Resident parking discount scheme webpage.

Advantage card

As a resident, you are entitled to get fantastic discounts at a range of attractions, retailers, restaurants, and many more. Please visit our Advantage card webpage for more details.

Railcards

Railcards offer value for money if you travel by train, saving you at least 1/3 on most rail fares. Please visit National Rail’s Railcards and Savings webpage for more details.

Repair Café

The Repair Café is open on the 2nd Saturday of every month. It is a volunteer run event where repair coaches help visitors to fix their beloved but broken item and extend its life. Why throw it away when it can be brought back to life with just a little help? Please book a slot.