Free and Low Cost Food in Oxford

There are many ways of accessing free and low cost food in Oxford. These include:

  • Community fridges and larders
  • Community support groups
  • Food banks

Community fridges

Open to everyone and no referral needed, community fridges are all about reducing food waste.

Community fridges collect surplus food and make it available to anyone who wants it, completely for free.

Table showing Community fridges in Oxford
Location Days Open Times Open

Blackbird Leys Community Centre

OX4 6HW

Thursdays

10am - 2pm

St Peter and St Pauls Church

OX2 9JY

Every day

Monday to Saturday 10am - 4pm

Sunday 11am - 2pm

St Barnabas Church

OX2 6BG

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays

In commmunity centre on Canal Street: Tuesdays, 5.30pm - 6.30pm

In church on Cardigan Street: Thursdays, 2pm - 4pm and Sundays, 1pm - 2pm

South Oxford Community Centre

OX1 4RP

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays

12pm - 2pm

Christian Life Centre

OX4 2AF

Wednesdays

3pm - 6pm

Marson Giving Garage, Elsfiels Road

OX3 0PR

Saturdays  9am - 11am, if volunteers are avaialble

 

Community larders

Open to everyone and no referral needed, community larders are low cost food clubs that are all about reducing food waste.

Community larder members pay £3.50 or £7 a week for access to 10 or 20 cupboard goods (e.g. tins and pasta) and usually receive unlimited fruit and veg.

Each larder operates slightly differently and the food offer usually varies each week, but the prices are the same for all. Find your local community larder below:

Table showing location and opening times of Community Larders in Oxford

Larder

Location

Opening day and time*

Barton

Barton Neighbourhood Centre

Underhill Circus, OX3 9LS

Tuesdays

10am to 12pm

2pm to 7pm

Blackbird Leys

Blackbird Leys Community Centre

Blackbird Leys Road, OX4 6HW

Wednesdays

3pm to 5pm

Botley

St. Peter & St. Paul Church Hall

2 Church Way, OX2 9JY

Thursdays

3.30pm to 5.30pm

Cutteslowe

Cutteslowe Community Centre

31 Wren Road, OX2 7SX

Wednesdays

2pm to 4pm

East Oxford

St Clement's Family Centre

Cross Street, Oxford, OX4 1DA.

Mondays

2.30pm to 5pm

Rose Hill

Rose Hill Community Centre

Carole's Way, OX4 4HF

Tuesdays

2pm to 4pm

West Oxford

West Oxford Community Centre

Botley Road, OX2 0BT

Fridays

4pm-7pm

*Before visiting, please check your local larder's website or Facebook page for opening times as these are subject to change.

Community support groups

There are many groups in Oxford who can offer emergency food parcels and ongoing food support, as well as other essential supplies and helpful information. Most of these do not require referrals and accept self-referrals.

Some of these groups are on our food services map. There are also others who have received grants from us to help residents and these are on our grants webpage, where you can find out more about what support is available.

Food banks

Services such as Oxford Food Bank and the Community Emergency Fund may be able to support you with food parcels. Please note they usually require a referral (e.g. from a healthcare worker). Find more information on our food services map.

Food services map

We have collaborated with Feeding The Gaps and Good Food Oxfordshire to create a map and database of services providing free or low cost food within Oxford.

The map, which can be viewed below, lets you easily search for local services depending on whether they are open access or you need to be referred. Further details for each service can be found by clicking on the pointers on the map.

View the Food Services in Oxfordshire map

If you know of a service that we have not yet listed, please email mail@gfo.org.uk so the map can be updated.