Free food during the festivals
Eating regularly and eating enough is absolutely vital for your mental health. If you can’t afford to eat, or are worried about where your next meal will come from, there are several projects in Edinburgh set up to provide meals for those in the city who need them.
Hot meals
The Breakfast Bothy is a former police box on the edge of the Meadows, painted bright red and yellow. They serve free breakfast, lunch, and hot drinks for people in crisis, and can also help connect you to free bike repairs, free haircuts and free laundry services.
Monday-Friday 9AM-1PM
The Breakfast Bothy, 100 Melville Drive, EH9 9EX
For more information, please visit: https://www.thebreakfastbothy.com/
Cyrenians’ community lunch club at The Heart of Newhaven is open to all, and includes a 2-course sit-down meal, often with free entertainment and social activities.
Mondays, 12:30AM-2PM
The Heart of Newhaven, 4-6 Main Street, Edinburgh, EH6 4HY
For more information, please contact: goldenyears@cyrenians.scot
Empty Kitchens, Full Hearts works across Edinburgh to provide food and support, free of charge and without judgement. They serve hot food once a week at their hub in Granton, where they will also help you find additional support.
Fridays 12-2PM
3-11 West Granton Road, EH5 1HG
Empty Kitchens can also deliver free meal packs to your door or to a local community centre for you to pick up, containing two days’ worth of pre-cooked lunch, dinner, and a snack.
Find out more at: www.emptykitchens.co.uk or contact: hello@emptykitchens.co.uk
Homelessness charity Social Bite run a coffee shop on Rose Street, where as well as a pay-it-forward scheme, they also offer free sit-in and takeaway food.
For more information, please go to: https://www.social-bite.co.uk/get-support#freefood
The Bethany Christian Trust’s Care Van offers food and support to people in crisis on the streets of Edinburgh.
The Lunchtime Care Van runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The van will stop at:
- 12:30pm Market Street
- 1pm-2pm Kings Stable Road
- 2pm Tesco, Easter Road, leaving no earlier than 2:15pm.
Every evening the Care Van will also provide freshly prepared soup and a buttered roll with hot drinks at:
- 9pm Waverley Bridge
- 9:50pm-10:30pm Kings Stable Road, Grassmarket, High Street (leaving no earlier than 10:35pm)
For more information please phone 0131 454 3120.
Stops are subject to traffic.
Soul Food provide hot, freshly prepared meals while also offering some respite and support to anyone dealing with the challenges of homelessness, poverty or loneliness.
LUNCH
Thursdays, 12:00-1:00pm
Oxgangs Community Church
The Hub, 230b Oxgangs Road North, EH13 9BQ
Sundays, 2:00pm
Central Church
Central Hall, West Tollcross, EH3 9BP
Dinner
Thursdays, 5:30pm
Grace Church Leith
3 Shrubhill Walk, EH7 4RB
Fridays (Over 60s), 5:30pm
St George’s School, Garscube Terrace
EH12 6BG
Sundays, 5:00-6:00pm
Oxgangs Community Church
The Hub, 230b Oxgangs Road North, EH13 9BQ
For more information please contact: www.soulfoodedinburgh.org/meals
Steps to Hope hold soup kitchens twice a week at St Cuthberts Church at the west end of Princes’ Street.
Sundays 5PM
Old St. Paul’s Church, 63 Jeffery Street, EH1 1DH
Mondays 6PM
Old St. Paul’s Church, 63 Jeffery Street, EH1 1DH
For more information please contact: info@stepstohope.co.uk
Right in the heart of the city, the Grassmarket Community Project provides freshly-prepared 2-course hot meals once a week, which may include free entertainment, free haircuts, or a digital drop-in. This is at the centre of the Fringe, though, so you may have to deal with some crowds.
Wednesdays, 5PM-6:30PM
Grassmarket Community Project, 86 Candlemaker Row, EH1 2QA.
The Guru Nanak Free Kitchen is led by volunteers from the Edinburgh Gurdwara, and serves fresh vegetarian food.
Wednesdays, 6PM-8PM
Waverley Steps
Find more food projects in Edinburgh (list from Breakfast Bothy)
Community food sharing projects
The Shrub Food Sharing Hub saves surplus food from supermarkets and businesses to share with the community. It operates on a pay-what-you-want model, and you can pick up as much as you need for whatever you can afford. They’re stocked in the morning, and may run out of produce through the day, so it’s best to go early if possible.
Tuesday – Saturday 10AM-5PM
Sundays 11AM-5PM
SHRUB Coop, 22 Bread Street, EH3 9AF
Find out more at: www.shrubcoop.org/food-sharing
The Portobello community fridge collects surplus food approaching its sell-by date from supermarkets around the town. It all needs to go on the day, so you can drop in and take what you want free of charge.
Saturdays, 10:30AM-11:30AM
Baptist Church, 189 Portobello High Street, EH15 1EU
The Pantry offers affordable food and essentials including fresh produce, cupboard staples, chilled items and toiletries. Membership is £1.
Wednesdays 11AM-2PM
4 Hay Avenue, Edinburgh EH16 4AQ
Holy Trinity Foodbank provides crisis support without the need for a referral or booking. After your first visit, you will need to provide proof of residence.
Tuesdays, 2PM-3PM
1-2 Hailesland Place, EH14 2SL
Find out more at: holytrinitywesterhailes.org.uk/wester-hailes-foodbank/