Huggg and British Red Cross create volunteer shopping option isolated people

A new solution is being rolled out by microgifting platform, Huggg, along with the British Red Cross, supporting coronavirus shielded Brits who don’t have friends or family nearby to help get them the supplies they need.

This enables individuals to buy a digital supermarket voucher and fill out a shopping list online.

An alert will then be sent to The British Red Cross volunteer network to accept the call-out, do the shopping and deliver it to the person in a socially distanced and cashless way, in line with government guidelines. Any money left on the voucher is returned to the person to use at a later date. Huggg does not charge fees to the user or the charity.

Paul Wickers, Founder and CEO, Huggg, says: “When the government lockdown came into effect, our offerings at cinemas, coffee shops and other high street chains were naturally paused, but we realised the immediate possibility of doing good and using our platform for positive social impact.”

“Initially, we set up voucher sharing which enabled schools to continue to provide free meals to families that would normally qualify. That’s when the British Red Cross got in touch. With so many people isolating at home and unable to get to the supermarket to do their shopping in a safe way, we knew we had to help.”

Penny Norfolk, a user of Huggg’s system, comments: “[The service] was an answer to a prayer. A genuine lifesaver. I was so pleased to get the shopping, and it was wonderful to be able to choose my own food and get exactly what I wanted.”

Available across the UK, shopping can be ordered and paid for using a web flow and card payment. A volunteer will be assigned within approximately 24 hours of the request being made, and can undertake a tripto Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer or Asda, with more supermarkets due to be announced soon.