Europe Fintech

Food bank feature built in days to support severe food shortages

Food banks across the UK are struggling to keep up with demand as support needs increase amongst those Britons hardest hit financially from the pandemic.

Helping to keep food banks heads above water, flexible insurance provider, Cuvva has launched a Food Bank Finder feature in its app, so customers can easily locate nearby food bank drop off points.

Loren Gould, Marketing Director at Cuvva, says: “People are relying on food banks to get by more than ever but food banks are facing a continued uphill battle with severe shortages in food donations and a sharp decline in volunteers. The Food Finder feature is aimed at making food banks more accessible, so customers can locate their nearest food bank and safely donate food on their way home from an essential grocery shopping trip. We were able to build the feature in a few days as we reworked an existing feature and we used a public API from Give Food.”

Available for iOS users, the Food Bank Finder features a map, highlighting the 10 nearest food banks located in one’s surrounding vicinity, including addresses, contact numbers and what food items are most needed. Give Food that is supplying the up-to-date data is a UK-based charity that supplies food to food banks.

Jason Cartwright, founder of Give Food said:Even before coronavirus became a problem UK food banks were experiencing unprecedented demand, and the recent situation has created a crisis for those in our communities, who are least able to cope. We’re proud to be able to help Cuvva leverage their tech to allow their users to discover what food banks near to them are requesting.”

Funded by the Cartwright family, Give Food has delivered 73.33 tonnes of food to 183 food banks around the country. That’s the equivalent of almost six double decker buses of food that has been donated via the organisation.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, amongst others, have urged Britons to donate to a nearby food bank. In a recent tweet, Khan noted: “Food banks in a number of boroughs are reporting critical shortages of food. Some have been forced to close because of a shortage of supplies and people to run them.”

At the start of lockdown, Britons stockpiled £1 billion worth of food. Households with any excess food can consider donating to nearby food banks.

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