Water company staff support local families this Christmas with Warrington Foodbank donations

Staff at Warrington-based water company United Utilities are supporting local families this Christmas through a huge company-wide donation to Warrington Foodbank.

They have collected all manner of food and drink items for the charity, which will go on to help people across the borough who are struggling to buy food amid the cost of living crisis.

The collection was the idea of Chloe Savage, Affordability Compliance Lead, and Sonya Howard, Senior Data Analyst.

They have been attending the company’s Cost of Living Crisis Summits in recent weeks, providing customers with advice and support. At these events they have met many people who are struggling to pay their bills and to put enough food on the table for their families.

“The difficulties that many people are facing really hit home at these events,” Chloe said. “We’ve met mums who are skipping meals so their kids can eat, and elderly people who are having to choose which bills to pay because they can’t afford them all.

“It was a real eye-opener to hear their stories first-hand, and we came away determined to do more to help.”

Sonya added: “United Utilities supports its customers in so many ways. Every day we’re speaking to people who are finding it hard to make ends meet, so as we already help them with their water bills we decided we wanted to do more to help people in Warrington where we’re based.

“Warrington Foodbank is such an important charity and a real lifeline for many, and we knew that our colleagues would give generously. We’re delighted to be providing this vital support and hopefully reminding people that they do not have to struggle alone.”

Vikki O’Donnell, Project Manager at Warrington Foodbank, said: “This winter we are braced for further significant increases in service users as families struggle with the energy and cost of living crisis. More people are being forced to use the foodbank for the first time than ever before.

“We are currently feeding over 2,000 people each month, with over a third of those being children. This represents a 45% increase this year compared to the same time last year.

“Our stock levels are reaching crisis point as public donations have declined dramatically and we could not continue to do what we do without the support of local businesses such as United Utilities.”

Customers struggling to pay their water bill can find out about the help available at www.unitedutilities.com/my-account/your-bill/difficulty-paying-your-bill/ or by calling 0800 072 6765.

Find out about Warrington Foodbank at: https://warrington.foodbank.org.uk/