More Than Food
Fuel Bank
In partnership with The Fuel Bank Foundation and CAP (Christians Against Poverty) Debt Centre, East Grinstead Foodbank has begun a trial to support households most in need of help by giving them funds to pay for gas and electricity alongside emergency food aid.
The Fuel Bank will help households using pre-payment meters, with any energy supplier.
People can visit us and then be referred to CAP for an assessment and receive up to a credit, up to £45 in Winter, £35 in Summer which they can use to top up their gas and electricity meter. This will enable households that have run out of energy to get the power back on within a few hours and keep the lights and heating on for up to two weeks. NB. This will be in the form of a code to use to top up your card and will not be in the form of money.
CAP’s aim is to address the problem of households who ‘self-disconnect’ in order to save money and the debt that may exist as a result.
Research conducted by Citizens Advice found that one in every six homes that use a prepayment meter has self disconnected, meaning up to 1.62 million people go without electricity or gas each year.