Project which started in Fife gives over 2m goods free to families in need across Scotland

The Fife Multibank, known as The Big Hoose Project, was set up by The Cottage Family Centre which provides support to families and individuals who are vulnerable to social exclusion as a result of issues including poverty, unemployment, relationship breakdown, drug and alcohol problems or other health related issues.

In conjunction with Amazon, former Prime Minister and Kirkcaldy MP Gordon Brown and other local businesses and suppliers the initiative began by helping people locally.

Now, two years on, the Big Hoose Multibank has helped to distribute 2.2 million donated products to households in Fife, Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth.

Other Multibanks since established across the UK have also distributed another 800,000 items from sites in Wigan and Swansea.

The latest milestone coincides with the opening of a new Multibank in London, led by The Felix Project with support from Amazon, Gordon Brown and the Mayor of London.

Building on the work of the first Multibank in Fife, the London one is the next step in the expansion of the initiative’s network.

Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister, said: “This milestone highlights the enormously important and pioneering work of the UK’s first Multibank in Fife, set up in 2022, which has been helping families most in need cope with the cost-of-living crisis initially in Kirkcaldy but now across the East of Scotland.

“Our new coalition with The Felix Project, who have such a strong reputation for doing good in London, will bring relief now to families in London while the new government prepares its anti-poverty strategy.”

John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon, said: “Since 2022, the Multibank has grown rapidly, donating millions of essential items to households across the UK. The addition of The Felix Project to the network is a natural next step. Through Felix’s Multibank, we will help many more vulnerable families across London by providing surplus essentials from Amazon and other businesses to those who need them most. We’ve already supported more than 400,000 families from our existing Multibanks, giving those experiencing poverty access to the essentials they need while contributing to a more circular economy.”