Utilita Energy Hub in Leith donates £1,500 to Edinburgh North East Foodbank

The Utilita Energy Hub team has donated £1,500 to Edinburgh North East Foodbank as part of its ‘Every Penny Feeds’ initiative.

Edinburgh North East Foodbank

Utilita has pledged for customer facing staff to deliver at least 10,000 hours of time to support foodbanks across the UK in 2021.

A company fundraiser saw a donation of a penny for every smart meter top-up made via the My Utilita app throughout December 2020.

This raised £17,000 in total for foodbank charities across the UK.

Charities receiving the donations include UK wide food charity FareShare .

The energy company said that around two million UK households have used a foodbank in the UK in 2020 - 300,000 more than the previous year.

They hope that valuable donations will help to provide meals for families and individuals experiencing poverty during the pandemic.

Alison Roxburgh, manager of Edinburgh North East Foodbank, said: “The foodbank, which covers the Leith area, supported 4,159 individuals and families with emergency food parcels last year. As we continue to live in uncertain times, with the country still in lockdown, the furlough scheme coming to an end, and job security in the balance, we anticipate an increase in those seeking support from the foodbank.

“It is thanks to the ongoing support and generosity of companies like Utilita that enables us to provide that much needed support to people within our community.”

Utilita have also released an #EnergyHigh5 Challenge to educate people on how every household can waste less energy and save on their annual energy bill.

They encourage individuals to: turn the heating off when out (£80), avoid using standby mode (£30), unplug unused electrical items (£30), turning lights off in unoccupied rooms (£14), using a 30C wash (£9).

Debra Clason, Hub manager of the Utilita Energy in Leith, said: “As a Leither, born and bred, I know how proud people are in this community and how they pull together.

“The fact that so many people have had to go to friends and family for support and rely on the foodbank shows how hard things are for people at the moment. The Hub in Leith is proud to be able to support the most vulnerable in our community by supporting the foodbank and their sterling work.”

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