Fuel support
On Prepayment meter?
When you are referred for a food parcel, your referrer will ask you if you have a prepayment meter and if you are in fuel crisis (not enough electricity or gas credit to last the next week and no way of topping up). This will be noted on your referral form and the week after you receive your parcel, a member of our volunteer fuel team will process a voucher for you. If you collect your parcel from us at St Clare’s, you will also be asked to fill in fuel form, which gives the team the details they need to process your voucher. If your parcel is delivered, your delivery driver will ask you if you have a prepayment meter and will send a note back to the food bank office team to ensure you are on our list. If this is your first referral to us, one of the volunteer fuel team will get in touch with you to ask for the information they need to make apply for your voucher.
Your voucher will come from The Fuel Bank Foundation which is a separate charity who partners with organisations, including food banks, helping people in need.
The value of the voucher you will receive varies, depending on the time of year and expected consumption, which is calculated by Fuel Bank Foundation. Their aim is for your voucher to provide enough energy to last 7-10 days.
Billed for your gas and/or electricity?
We also partner with Energy Manage who are experts in helping people manage and reduce their energy bills. When you come to collect your parcel, if you are billed for your energy and would like some financial support with your bills and advice, then please fill in one of our Energy Manage forms. If your parcel is delivered, a form will be included in the parcel and your delivery driver will let you know about the support available.
This will be sent to the Energy Manage team and they will be in contact with you within a week of receiving the form. Please indicate on this form if you have fuel debt and how much this is, because they prioritise support to help those in most need first and this helps with this prioritisation.
Energy Manage have some funds to help cover the cost of some of your bill, but their main value is the advice they can provide you. They can help you with:
finding the right tariff for you,
social tariffs for water and broadband,
negotiating payment plans,
applying for grants to help pay off debt etc.
referring you to other organisations for specific support where needed
They work in the same way we do at the food bank, with no judgement.
Energy Support Workshops
Energy Manage will soon be running some workshops for people that are:
on a low income
struggling to pay their energy bills
in energy crisis
They will help to increase people’s awareness of their energy use and offer some advice and support to help households to save energy and save money.
If you are interested in coming along or would like to find out more, please email us, using the details at the bottom of this page.
Did you know?
Draught proofing is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save energy and money in your home. By blocking up unwanted gaps around windows, doors and flooring that let cold air in and warm air out, you’ll use less energy to heat your home - which in turn will save you money on your energy bills.
