Coffee cups with purpose
FILL ONE, FEED ONE
More people than ever before are being forced to rely on food banks to feed themselves and their families. Between April 2020 and March 2021, a staggering 2.5 million emergency food parcels were provided to people in crisis throughout the UK. This is a 33% increase compared to the previous year, highlighting the devastating impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on local families. Last year, almost 7000 parcels were given our every day. Of these over 2600 were given to children (Trussell Trust, 2021).
HICUP (which stands for HelpIng Communities cUP) is a social enterprise that aims to go a little way to helping the growing number of people using food banks across Northern Ireland and further afield.
SO HOW DOES IT WORK?
With every sale of our reusable coffee cups, provisions are donated to a local food bank with equivalent value to provide a meal for a family of four. This can include long-life food, perishable items or essential care products, such as toiletries or sanitary items, depending on the needs of the food bank at the time.
Since our launch in 2020, we have provided supplies equivalent to over 1000 meals for a family of four to local food banks in Northern Ireland and Scotland. This has provided essential food and care items to people in our local communities - thank you!
WHY REUSABLE COFFEE CUPS?
2.5 billion coffee cups are used and thrown away each year in the UK - enough to stretch around the world roughly five and a half times - but less than 1 in 400 (just 0.25%) are recycled (latest UK Government figures published in December 2017).
Most disposable coffee cups are lined with a plastic coating which recycling centres are unable to remove. This means a mountain of those cups end up in landfill every year after being used only once.
You can use our HICUP coffee cups again and again! Our cups are made from 304 Stainless Steel and keep your hot bevvys piping hot, and cold bevvys super chill for up to 4 hours, wowza!
So with each cup purchase, you are caring for a family in need AND helping to protect our beautiful planet by tackling the coffee cup waste problem, woohoo - go you!
