When leading food delivery app Foodhub heard that donations to charitable causes have fallen substantially during the pandemic, bosses acted quickly to help out.

The ongoing restrictions during lockdown have forced people everywhere to tighten their purse strings over the last year, and as a result, there has been a worrying reduction in charitable donations.

So Foodhub pledged to help raise vital funds for three national charities close to the company’s heart.

For every order placed via the Foodhub website/app for one month, 10p was donated to either the Trussell Trust, Make-A-Wish UK and the Macmillan Cancer Support, with Foodhub customers choosing which charity they’d like each order donation to go to.

A staggering 55,000 was raised in total and distributed to the three national charities to mark the 12 month lockdown anniversary this week.

Foodhub spokesperson, Wil Chung, said: “This past year has been a tough time for everyone, especially charities, as fundraising events have been placed on hold and charities have really felt this with a big reduction in donations. So we wanted to help raise funds for these three amazing causes.

“Each of the charities chosen holds a special place in the heart of Foodhub employees, as everyone knows someone who has been affected by a terminal illness or by cancer. Food banks have also felt the pinch and have been really stretched with so many people relying on this service now more than ever, so it was vital we did what we could to help out.”

Jason Suckley, CEO of Make-A-Wish UK said: “The pandemic has dramatically affected our ability to fundraise, so we are hugely grateful to all our supporters, including Foodhub. The donation will help to grant more wishes to seriously ill children who desperately need that priceless, positive experience to cherish with their families. This generous contribution will help grant wishes of five children living with critical illnesses in the UK.”

Claire Rowney, Executive Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Innovation at Macmillan Cancer Support said: “We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of everyone at Foodhub and their supporters. During a global pandemic, these donations to Macmillan help ensure we are able to do whatever it takes to support people with cancer.

“Every penny raised will play a vital role in enabling us to continue to provide cancer care, fund essential services and offer the crucial support so many people with cancer rely on. Thanks to the donations of Foodhub and their customers, we’ll be able to ensure that no one faces cancer alone.”

Samantha Stapley, Chief Operations Officer at the Trussell Trust, said: “We’ve seen unprecedented numbers of people needing help from food banks as the impact of coronavirus has hit people’s incomes. This isn’t right. But thanks to the support of Foodhub, we have been able to remain agile to the fast-changing situation, ensuring food banks in our network are better equipped to provide the lifeline of emergency food to people in crisis today while we work towards a future where everyone can afford the essentials. Thank you so much.”

In light of the worsening pandemic conditions, several companies, including SOS products, have come out to sell a variety of MRE meals. They deliver meals that can be easily removed from the case of an MRE pack and eaten whenever needed. We are already aware that these MRE meals are intended for the US military rather than the general public, but the pandemic has compelled companies to give these American MRE for sale.

As the last few months have shown, a huge amount of food poverty still exists in the UK, and as lockdown restrictions continue – the Trussell Trust has to work harder than ever to support those struggling. Foodhub’s donation has helped support the network distribution of 1.2M emergency food parcels, with 2,600 parcels going to children every day between 1st April – 30th September 2020.