Say hello to our Food Bank Finder

We've got a new feature going live for iOS users in our app, and we're pretty proud of it. Introducing our Food Bank Finder.

Food banks are struggling right now, so we're trying to help our Cuvva community support them.

P.S. We're running a competition too, just read to the end!

Customer behaviour has changed

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we've all had to make changes to our way of life.

Unsurprisingly these changes in behaviour, like social distancing and working from home, have had a big impact on how people use Cuvva.

We're pleased our app is being used responsibly in the lockdown. When we asked why you were using temporary car insurance right now, a lot of you were carrying out those essential grocery runs.

Food banks are struggling, and we wanted to help

Unfortunately, not everyone is in a position to do those shops. It's a tricky time for us all, but even harder for people who need food banks to get by.

There's been an increase in food insecurity since the start of the pandemic, and food banks that were already stretched are now facing more demand.

On top of that, the number of donations have been falling. Lots of food banks are having to use emergency supplies to meet daily needs.

Rising demand and falling supplies means that some food banks could run out before the lockdown ends, leaving vulnerable people and families without a source of food.

We wanted to help. That's why we created our Food Bank Finder, so it's easier to locate the nearest drop off point for your donations.

Hopefully this will help our customers to support people who are finding things especially tough at the moment.

How to use the Food Bank Finder

You can find the Food Bank Finder in your vehicle's profile. If you're a new user, you'll see your vehicle's profile after you've filled in the car registration number.

If you've got an active policy, you can get the finder from the home screen in the app.

Tapping 'Nearby food banks' maps out the 10 food banks closest to you. You can check the address, phone number and a list of items they're in need of for each one.

Sometimes, the closest donation point will be in a supermarket, sometimes it will be the food bank's own warehouse.

You can also tap a handy button that will open up your maps app with the way there. Just pick up some supplies, choose the food bank you want to donate to and you'll be on your way.

Just as a note, it's worth visiting the food bank's website or calling them to check their donation process while we're practicing social distancing. You might have to leave donations with a note, just call ahead to ask.

You'll need the latest version of iOS (3.10.9), so hop on over to the App Store for an update.

Get involved

To celebrate this new release, we're running a little competition. We'd love to know when you've made a donation to a food bank. If you tell us, you could win £200 in Cuvva credit.

Please remember to follow the government guidelines including social distancing, and if in doubt check ahead with the food bank when you want to donate.

To enter the competition just head over to our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. When you're making a donation, tag us in a photo of you dropping off the supplies and we'll add you to our prize draw. Make sure you follow us, too! 😏

The credit will be divided up as £20 off each of your next 10 policies, expiring in February 2021.

The competition will run for four weeks from 28th April 2020 to 25th May 2020. We'll announce the winner by 28th May. And just so you know, the competition terms apply in addition to our general terms, and your data will be handled in line with our privacy notice.

Behind the scenes

Under the hood, we've used Give Food to get all our food bank data, through their public API.

They're a UK charity that gets supplies to food banks. They've delivered 73.33 tonnes of food (that's 49.65 million calories!) to 183 food banks around the country. We think that's great.

If you're interested in the technical bits, one of the reasons we got the Food Bank Finder in the app so quickly is because we've been able to reuse our own code. Thanks to our old Fuel Finder feature, the basic structure was already in place. We got a working concept together in just a few days.