Seasonal Food Fund 2025

UNISON’s Welfare Charity – There for You, is launching a Seasonal Food Fund for 2025. 

The fund will open at 12 noon on Tuesday 30th September 2025 for 24 hours and applications will not be accepted before or after this timeframe. If you’re a UNISON member on a low income (according to the criteria below) you can apply for a £30 voucher per qualifying person in your household towards the cost of food. You can apply for a voucher for yourself, your partner and your dependent children.

We want to make this fund go as far as possible and help as many members as we can. Please only apply if you are in financial difficulty. 

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be a UNISON member and have paid at least four weeks’ subscriptions as of 30 September 2025. Subscriptions must be up to date.
• Not have received a grant from UNISON Welfare since 30 March 2025, excluding Step into Spring Grant
• Be in receipt of Child Benefit.

And EITHER:

Be on a low income, meaning a net household income* of no more than £28,205/year (£2,350.42/month).

OR:

Be in receipt of means-tested benefits. This includes:    

• Universal Credit    
• Housing Benefit    
• Child and/or Working Tax Credits    
• Pension Credit    
• Means-tested Jobseekers Allowance    
• Means-tested Employment Support Allowance    
• Income Support  

* Net household income includes your monthly take-home pay from work (plus your partner’s, if you have one), any income from child maintenance payments, any income from student finance loans or bursaries, pensions (excluding Pension Credit) and any income from people living with you (e.g. adult children or lodgers). 

** Where members either have no recourse to public funds and their household income is above £28,205/year an assessment will be undertaken to see whether they would be eligible for benefits if they did have recourse to public funds so that they are not disadvantaged.    

If you have received a grant from UNISON Welfare since 30 March 2025 (excluding the Step into Spring grant) you will not be eligible to apply to the Seasonal Food Fund.

How do I apply?  

All applications should be made online HERE 

Due to limited funds and in anticipation of high demand, we regret that we will not be able to help all members who apply.