Referrers

Need to make a referral?

We work closely with organisations that refer clients for a food parcel, to ensure that each person is receiving the appropriate support for their situation to ensure that they can move away from needing our support. 

We can provide food parcels to those who live in Guildford and surrounding villages, where we are their closest food bank. The map below gives guidance on this. Please contact us if you are unsure whether your client is in our area or not.

Please be aware that there are food banks outside our area and their details are here : other food banks


Current referring organisation

If you have made referrals to us before, then you can do so again, using the form link that we emailed you. 

New referrer

If you haven’t made a referral before, then please email us at info@guildfordfoodbank.org and we will send you a form link and ask that you read our Referral Guidelines below

Please encourage the client to collect, or to send someone to collect on their behalf, if at all possible. Deliveries can only be guaranteed for clients who are housebound. 

To give your clients an idea of what will happen when they come to collect their parcel, please take a look at Food parcel collection / delivery - link to this page of the website

Referral deadlines

To ensure that we have time to prepare the parcels, please note the following deadlines for making a referral:

  • Park Barn Tuesday afternoons – deadline 3pm Monday

  • Park Barn Wednesday mornings – deadline 3pm Tuesday

  • Park Barn Friday evening – deadline 3pm Thursday

If you have an emergency request after the deadline, please call us on 07583 025435 to discuss. 

Urgent need

If your clients are in urgent need of food, before they collect their food parcel, please let them know about the community fridges and community pantries listed on our signposting tool.

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Guidelines for making a referral to us

Please read the information below before making a referral.

Referrals to the North Guildford Food Bank (NGFB) are designed to allow people and families in distressing circumstances to have access to free food parcels from the Food Bank. The intention is that these food parcels should be short term crisis help and not an ongoing handout.

The main reasons for making referrals are are:

  • Delay in benefit payments

  • Benefit cuts

  • Debt

  • Change in circumstances e.g. family breakdown, sickness

  • Loss of job

  • Domestic violence

  • Homelessness

  • At work but on a very low income

Key points for referrals

  • One referral gives one food parcel.

  • The referral must be submitted by the referrer by 3pm the day before the parcel is required. All referrals must be made by approved referrers via the online link sent when approval was granted.

  • The parcels will contain 5-7 days worth of fresh and non-perishable food for the appropriate size of household.

  • We are able to provide an average of 1 food parcel per month for up to six months. After this point, we are happy to continue providing support to the client but we will need them to be engaging with a referrer who can help them look into their finances and give them advice/help with budgeting etc. This is to help avoid clients becoming dependent upon the food bank.

  • Occasionally, we have exceptional client cases where a client needs parcels on a more frequent basis than just 1 per month. We are happy to accommodate this, we just need clarification from the referrer as to why the client needs them more frequently and may occasionally ask for updates.

  • If a referrer can't support a client with their finances, we recommend the client be referred to Christians Against Poverty if they are in debt. Alternatively, we can refer clients to Citizens Advice directly, we just need you as a referrer to confirm your client is happy to be contacted by us for this.

  • Clients must be living in Guildford or the immediately outlying villages (where we are the closest Food Bank).

  • Clients should be prepared to collect their food parcels wherever possible, bearing in mind that they will consist of several bags or boxes of food. If the client is unable to collect, or to send someone to collect on their behalf, we can deliver within Guildford from each session. If a client is collecting on foot, please recommend they bring a suitcase, trolley or backpack to help them carry the parcel home as they can be heavy/bulky.

  • We can make referrals for gas and electricity vouchers for clients with prepayment meters, and only in conjunction with a food parcel (from our partner organisation Fuel Bank Foundation), in line with their guidelines for frequency of referral. They are provided electronically or by post, the week after the parcel is collected. If this support is needed, this must be specified in the referral form.

  • Fuel support and advice is also available for clients who are billed for their energy via our partner organisation Energy Manage. We will ask them if they need this support when they collect their parcel, or when a delivery is made.

Hopefully this will give you an idea of when to make referrals. Obviously each case will be different and you will have to exercise your own judgement as to whether the situation the individual describes is genuine or not, and whether it warrants a food parcel.

If in any doubt, please ring 07583 025435 or email info@guildfordfoodbank.org