As fuel, food and bills continue to rise there is also a growing number of cashback and money saving opportunities.
Our team put together a list of in-person and virtual places to source cheap or free food, clothes, household items and much more.
In-person
- The Recycle Room – 137 Onslow Rd, Clydebank G81 2PW – recycles unwanted clothes, toys, household items
- Isaro Community Initiative – Centre 81, 2/16 Braes Avenue, G81 1DP – energy-saving information & advice, recycle & reuse workshops
- Help 4 the Homeless Shop – Fleming Avenue, Clydebank – FREE shop recycling pre-loved clothes, shoes and household items. Open Mondays, Wednesday & Saturday 10.30am – 5pm
- School Uniform & Baby Banks – Food for Thought & West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare provide a range of pre-loved school and baby clothes and equipment
- West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare – provide food, toiletries, household & baby items and pet food to anyone in WD who has no money/food. Delivers direct to the home the following day, Mon – Fri 10am – 4pm 01389 764135 and Freephone 0800 345 7050
- The Company Shop – Unit 12, Renfrew Trading Estate, Argyll Avenue, PA4 9EN – sells heavily discounted surplus food and household items for members. Eligibility – charity employees, NHS, emergency services, people in receipt of means-tested benefits, support services, prison workers, armed forces & FMCG manufacturing & logistics. Sign up for free membership at https://www.companyshopgroup.co.uk/profile/freemembership
Online
- We Care We Share Faifley/Clydebank Facebook – free exchange Facebook group for Clydebank area
- Things for FREE/ For Sale in Dumbarton, Helensburgh and surrounding areas – Facebook group
- Approved Food – online discount shop selling food and drinks past or close to best before dates
- Freecycle & Freegle – free online recycling communities
Apps
- Too Good to Go – supermarkets, coffee shops and more sell unsold food at knock-down prices
- Olio – a sharing app for communities to give away, lend or sell pre-loved items locally
- FreePrints – print up to 500 6×4 photos a year FREE
- Top Cash – Get cash back every time you shop through this app with over 4,000 major retailers
Utility Support
- Warm Home Discount – one-off annual payment of £150 towards electricity bills for customers on low incomes and/or in receipt of certain benefits. Check your utility company website or contact them to find out how and when to apply
- Priority Services Register – most utility companies and Scottish Water provide additional support and prioritise people with a disability/long-term health condition or other support needs if supplies are disrupted. Visit their websites to register.
Below is a list of local West Dunbartonshire Community Hubs, pantries, and warm spaces.
Warm Spaces
Clydebank
Kilbowie St Andrews Parish Church – Warm space starts October, Wednesdays 10am – 2pm. Free food/soup/sandwiches /hot drinks.
The Salvation Army – Wed & Thurs 11am – 1.30pm. Warm space and cafe (donation only). Also offers an Employment Plus service.
Dalmuir
Dalmuir Barclay Church – Drop-in Tots – Teens on Weds 10am – 12; Cafe & Community Pantry and Craft Group Thursdays 6.30pm – 8pm & Drop-in Café & Community Pantry on Fridays 11am – 2pm
Improving Lives (previously known as The Big Disability Group) – open 9am – 5pm Mon to Thurs and 9am – 3pm on a Friday. Community space offering free tea, biscuits plus advisors available.
Old Kilpatrick
OKFP Chatty Cafe – serving food, tea/coffee and place for a blether from 12 – 4pm Mon to Fri.
OKFP Community Food Pantry – open for emergency food Tues, Wed & Thurs 12 – 4pm.
Dumbarton
Food for Thought – free lunch in St Augustine’s Church Hall, Wednesdays 11.30am – 2pm.
Myre Community Hub – free breakfast in St Peter’s Chapel House, Howatshaws Road, Bellsmyre, Tues & Fri 8.45am – 10am.
Soup Club – St Augustine’s Church Hall Fridays 11.30am – 2pm & St Patrick’s Church Hall, lunches every Mon 11am – 2pm.
Phoenix Community Cafe – Weds & Thurs 12 – 2pm; breakfast Tues 8am – 10.30am – now donation based.
Soup Spot – Lennox Evangelical Church 12 – 1.30pm every Tuesday.
Tullochan Community Social Hub – Tuesdays 10.30am – 12 Board games, TV and Wifi, free soup, tea, coffee and snacks. Open to everyone. 9-11 Poplar Road, Dumbarton.
Vale of Leven
Renton Football Club – Every Thursday Tontine Pavilion 12 – 3pm tea/ coffee, food pantry, wifi & chat.
Information in this article was accurate at time of publication in Sept 2023