2020 has been a year of uncertainty, worry and stress for many people with COVID having an impact on everyone’s day-to-day lives. For hundreds of people in Edinburgh it has meant accessing a foodbank centre for the first time.
We have continued to protect and serve the most financially vulnerable throughout 2020– ensuring no-one goes without emergency food provision during this challenging time. We have been able to do this by providing a next day home delivery service to anyone, who through a lack of funds, was referred to our foodbank services.
Throughout April-October 2020 we provided 2,030 family parcels (+50%) and 4,994 parcels for singles/couples (+44%), referred through referral partners.
48% of people referred to our service have come through NHS and City of Edinburgh Council services (housing officers, social work, mental health services etc.) with the other 52% through 3rd sector organisations (homeless services, advice centres, domestic abuse services etc.).
Our COVID19 home delivery service allowed us to meet the very specific COVID19 needs of people, who were in financial hardship, without them putting themselves at risk by leaving their home. We were able to provide peoplewith: 3meals/day for 3 days for each household member; a toiletry/household pack (toilet roll/soap/shampoo/disinfectant etc.); baby items (nappies/wipes/formula) and pet food; in addition to this, we have been able to provide fresh bread/eggs/vegetables. 3-5 days each week.
To complement our COVID19 home delivery service, we adapted our Money Advice Service (usually as drop-ins within the foodbanks) to provide a benefits and welfare telephone helpline to ensure those impacted through COVID19 are able to receive advice and help to access financial support. Since implementing our advice line our part-time Advisor has taken over 190 calls and has helped to maximise people’s income by over £18,000 collectively through benefit and grant applications.
For now, restriction have eased enough to allow us to reopen our foodbank centres (with COVID measures in place) and bring an end to our COVID19 home delivery service. However, with potential for another Scotland wide lockdown and an end to the furlough scheme we are preparing ourselves for our busiest Christmas ever.
Please consider supporting Edinburgh Food Project this Christmas.
The Easy One
Black Friday shopping, Cyber Monday shopping, Christmas shopping – December is all shop, shop, shopping!!
Below are two of the easiest (and free) ways you can support us.
When you are heading to Amazon to do your shopping this year, use Smile.Amazon instead – all the prices are the same, for you the shopper, but EFP get 0.5% of your basket cost donated to us by Amazon.
When shopping online, why not go via EasyFundraising and choose us as your good cause. It works just like the cashback sites that you always see advertised on the TV, except the stores donate to us!
Always remember to choose Edinburgh Food Project as your good cause!
The Money One
This year, with the added cost of our COVID delivery service, our cost per parcel provided has more than doubled.
There are a few ways you can make financial donations directly to us, to help cover these costs.
Commit to donating £10 per month, every month. Think of it as “the gift that keeps on giving”. This commitment will allow us to budget and prepare for the future and to ensure we are able to continue to support local people in poverty.
Text EFP33 to 70970 to donate a one-off donation of £5 to help someone in need this Christmas.
The Fun One
Working from home definitely makes workplace fundraisers a little more difficult, so this year we need to get a little more creative. Here are a few ideas to put the FUN in fundraising. No one said supporting us had to be boring!!
Christmas Jumper Day – Everyone in your workplace, school, community group (where isn’t important!) all pick a date, wear a Christmas jumper and donate £1 to the Edinburgh Food Project. You might be working from home, but that is no excuse – showcase your Christmas jumper at your next virtual meeting.
Virtual Quiz – Host your very own virtual quiz. Ask your participants to donate a small fee for joining and donate the proceeds to Edinburgh Food Project.
Step Challenge – 10,000 steps a day, every day, in December. How many laps of you living room is 10,000 steps? How many times round your garden? Get creative! Ask your colleagues to donate a small fee to take part and donate the proceeds to Edinburgh Food Project.
The Festive One
There is nothing more festive than getting to eat a little chocolate for your breakfast, but what if you could help someone in need instead?
Here’s what to do- rather than taking an item out of the box like your traditional advent calendar we ask that you instead put one of our selected items into a box and after the 24 days you donate the box to us! This will ensure people are well prepared for the much anticipated CHRISTMAS DINNER! I’m sure you can all agree that’s much more rewarding than a small chocolate for breakfast each day!
If possible please complete your reverse advent in November, its a little early we know, but it gives us time to get the donations in, sorted and back out to people in time for Christmas.
If you would rather do the reverse advent calendar in December, that’s okay! Our warehouse is open until the 22nd of December, but please have any Christmas donations (mince pies/Christmas puddings/selection boxes etc.) with us by December 11th to allow us to get it to people in time for Christmas.
P.S. if you also have a little chocolate for breakfast we won’t tell.
The Foodie One
Food, the reason we are here. Each parcel we provide people contains 3 meals/per day for 3 days, for everyone in the family (we even have pet food).
There are load of different ways you can donate to us:
- Directly into supermarket collection baskets – find locations HERE
- An online order direct to our warehouse (please let us know first) – contact details HERE
- Dropping off at our warehouse – HERE
- At our final in-store supermarket collections of the year:
Tesco South Queensferry & Tesco Corstorphine
19th, 20th and 21st of November (10:00-16:00)
Unfortunately, due to COVID we are unable to accept donations direct to our foodbank centres.
P.S we also collect every day toiletries and household cleaning items (please no sanitary products, we are well stocked).
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who has donated, will donate and have encouraged others to donate.
We quite simply would not be able to help so many people, living in crisis, if it was not for the generosity and kindness of all of our donors.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.