Butterfield today announced that it has donated an additional $50,000 to extend the duration of the emergency meal programme it initiated with The Loren Hotel until 29 May 2020.

Butterfield established the programme with The Loren at the beginning of April with an initial donation of $150,000 to deliver meals to senior citizens and vulnerable persons in Bermuda during the COVID-19 health crisis.

In cooperation with 180 volunteers working through 11 local churches, the Eliza DoLittle Society and the Salvation Army, and other generous sponsors—Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd, Enstar Limited, Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd., SIGCo Group, and the Bermuda Emergency Fund of the Bermuda Community Foundation—the programme will have provided over 41,500 meals by the time it winds up at the end of the week.

Michael Neff, Butterfield’s Managing Director – Bermuda, said “With the operations of many charities and churches in Bermuda having been suspended during the shelter-at-home period, the Butterfield/Loren meal programme proved to be a much needed service during the early stages of COVID-19, delivering nutritious, freshly prepared food to vulnerable persons daily. We are pleased that we were in a position to mobilise resources to assist our neighbours in need.

“As we are now in Phase 2 of re-opening, restrictions continue to be lifted on restaurant and charity operations, as well as peoples’ freedom of movement and assembly. This means the food security safety net for vulnerable persons is being restored, and the need for emergency meal delivery is lessened.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the culinary staff at the Loren Hotel, our generous co-sponsors, and all our volunteers across the island at the churches and charities involved who helped make sure meals got to those in need during this difficult period.”

Butterfield has supported Bermuda through the crisis through a combination of monetary donations and payment deferrals for credit customers. In addition to the $200,000 of funding provided for the Emergency Meal Programme, the Bank lowered interest rates on personal loans and mortgages on 16 March, and on 18 March introduced automatic payment deferrals on personal and small business loans, residential mortgages and credit cards, which has kept an extra $55 million circulating in the Bermuda economy.

• Press release from Butterfield