Post Office has teamed up with charity Trussell Trust, aiming to raise over £350,000 to support families facing hardships this winter.
The partnership will run until 31 March 2024 and means that for every cash withdrawal made over the counter in a Post Office, it will contribute 1p to the Trussell Trust.
It comes after the company’s latest research found that the cost of food and Christmas dinner is causing concern for 61% of the UK population, up 16% compared to when asked about last year.
From 2,000 UK adults questioned, it revealed that the biggest worries for UK residents this December are the cost of gifts (43%), paying heating bills (40%) and the cost of Christmas food (35%).
Other key findings found that the three months leading up to Christmas this year, nearly a quarter (24%) of the nation have had to reduce their spending on essential food items. The main reasons given for that are the rising cost of bills (41%) and food (23%) stretching the average household’s finances.
The postal service said for households facing poverty and needing the support of food banks like those in the Trussell Trust network, the situation is even harder as even the essentials are unaffordable. Over half (52%) respondents said they are more likely to buy reduced food items to help cut costs, and nearly half (44%) have turned to cash to help budget for their Christmas meal.
It also explained that with cost-of-living pressures continuing, more people are looking to find ways to budget this winter, 23% of people in the UK intend to take cash out weekly to help them budget, with one in five (20%) stated that they have been saving for the season since the beginning of the year.
In addition, Post Office found that more customers have chosen to withdraw notes and coins in the run up to Christmas with over £878 million withdrawn in cash in November, a rise of over 5% on November last year. It also revealed that the average withdrawal amount has hit an all-time high of £119.86.
Last year, the partnership raised nearly £340,000 for the charity, bringing the total for the first two years to £630,000. This year, the company’s goal is to raise over £366,000, taking the total raised over the three years to £1m.
Nick Read chief executive at Post Office commented on the partnership: “Post Offices play a crucial role in local communities, helping people access financial support as well as enabling people to withdraw cash to help manage their budgets and pay their bills using cash. The funds generated by customers’ support for the campaign over the years have provided grant funding for food banks to carry on their brilliant work handing out close to 3 million food supplies to people in crisis in the last year.
Emma Revie chief exectitve at Trussell Trust said: “The support provided by the Post Office is invaluable to the food banks in our network, especially as they are expecting to distribute more than 1 million parcels between December and February. Our teams across the UK are working tirelessly to ensure help continues to be available but, ultimately, nobody should need to turn to a food bank as everyone should have enough money for the essentials.”
Alongside the £1m fund goal this year, some Postmasters and Post Office branches are supporting the partnership by hosting food bank collection services to support the local communities they operate in.
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