Hackney Foodbank is a voluntary organization founded in the UK by local churches and community groups in 2012 to stop hunger. They have since provided the ingredients for more than 100,000 meals to people in financial crisis. In 2020, demand for their services saw a 257% increase in people served compared to 2018, and a 345% increase in people served over the age of 65 compared to 2019.
In June 2020, during the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Hackney Foodbank asked Capco to support with rolling out a new electronic food voucher system to better manage the increased flow of vouchers being issued due to surging demand for emergency food support.
Capco subsequently successfully rolled out the Trussell Trust eVoucher system to 15 of the top 20 Hackney Foodbank referral agencies, which collectively accounted for some 75% of paper vouchers issued in H1 2020.
The Capco team also designed and coordinated a series of system training sessions with around 50 new agency users and foodbank volunteers to guide them through the process of issuing and processing eVouchers.
This work allowed for an accelerated transition to the new eVoucher system, reducing administrative complexities and improving the audit trail of food vouchers issued.
To support with the increased demand for food support, Capco also ran a virtual fundraising event in July 2020 which saw its consultants participate in an Instagram cook-off challenge and make financial donations, helping Hackney Foodbank raise almost £300 over the course of a week.
The partnership between Capco and Hackney Foodbank has proved to be crucial in managing the heightened demand for food support in the UK, and the teams continue to work together on the project and develop new initiatives to further optimize food distribution to people in crisis.
Tanya Whitfield, Operations and Services Manager at Hackney Foodbank, said: “The training materials are great and look fantastic - very well structured and fully comprehensive. I have had good feedback from participants. Great delivery in a professional but friendly way. Everyone felt comfortable and had the opportunity to ask questions along the way. Thank you Capco for setting this up and for all the training you have delivered and are continuing to do! Well done!"
Mike Ethelston, UK Managing Partner at Capco, said: ”Capco has a long-standing commitment to supporting our employees and our communities around the world. Our global headquarters are located in Shoreditch, so we are particularly proud to have been able to put our digital expertise to work to assist Hackney Foodbank in its vital efforts helping individuals and families in need and tackling the wider food crisis in the UK. We look forward to identifying further opportunities to partner with the Foodbank and play our role in addressing deprivation and inequality within our local community.”
-ENDS-
Media contacts
Hackney Foodbank
020 7254 2464 – info@hackney.foodbank.org.uk
Capco
Tim Steele, Head of Communications
07714 564426 – tim.steele@capco.com
Notes for editors
• Hackney Foodbank is part of The Trussell Trust’s network of 428 foodbanks, working to tackle food poverty and hunger in our local communities, as well as across the UK. The Foodbank Network was founded in 2004 after four years of developing the original foodbank based in Salisbury. Since then, The Trussell Trust has helped communities work together to launch foodbanks nationwide in a wide range of towns and cities
• Hackney Foodbank runs four distribution centres each week. They are Hoxton Foodbank Centre, Upper Clapton Foodbank Centre, Stoke Newington Foodbank and Florence Bennett Centre. People who go to the foodbank for emergency food needs to have a valid foodbank voucher.
Capco is a global technology and management consultancy dedicated to the financial services industry. Our professionals combine innovative thinking with unrivalled industry knowledge to offer our clients consulting expertise, complex technology and package integration, transformation delivery and managed services to move their organizations forward. Through our collaborative and efficient approach, we help our clients successfully innovate, increase revenue, manage risk and regulatory change, reduce costs, and enhance controls. We specialize primarily in banking, capital markets, wealth and asset management and insurance. We also have an energy consulting practice in the US. We serve our clients from offices in leading financial centers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit our web site at www.capco.com, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Hackney Foodbank is a charity founded by local churches and community groups in 2012, working together towards stopping hunger. They are a voluntary organization working with over 200 local partners and are supported by community organizations through food donations and other means of support. Hackney Foodbank is also a member of the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network and they are an independently registered charity. To learn more, visit their web site at https://hackney.foodbank.org.uk/.