An East Lothian Instagram influencer has vowed to donate the funds raised from her work on social media to support a local food bank.
Hannah Mcnab, 25, from Haddington, has said that she finds it “heartbreaking” that people have to rely on food banks in a so-called wealthy country. As a result she is using the money she has earned through her work on Instagram and TikTok - where she has over 16,000 followers combined - to help.
The Standard Life trainee retirement consultant says that she is extremely grateful to businesses that give her the opportunity to be able to sample and share their amazing products. But Hannah also wanted to give back to her local community and felt that the best way to do this was to donate the fees she has received from creating advertising posts to support vulnerable families during a difficult cost of living crisis.
READ MORE: Edinburgh dad opens up on using food banks after pal went three days without eating
On donating her Instagram and TikTok fees, she said: “There are two ways where I earn money on Instagram. The most common way is that a business will pay me for a post or video/reels, which is basically like an advert showing off their restaurant or food and drinks.
“The second way I get paid, which isn't as common, is that I will be given a discount code to share with anyone who follows me, or anyone at all for that matter, and if they use my link I get a very small percentage of the product bought.
“So I will go to restaurants, hotels and small businesses and basically just do a review and share it on Instagram. Obviously most of these are gifted so I am extremely grateful to those that ask me to share a review.
“For example I have had one paid ad this month and that one ad was for £450. Fees generally can range from £150-£500 per post but it depends on the business and their needs.”
But Hannah is not stopping there, as the caring consultant has vowed to also donate a food parcel weekly to her local food bank and has enquired about volunteering to help feed vulnerable families in her community.
She continued: “I am also going to be doing a food shop myself once a week with my own money outside of the Insta and TikTok fees and will be donating that to the food bank.
“I'm from East Lothian so it is obviously close to home and my heart. I know how many people around me are struggling especially with the cost of living and food prices on the rise.
“I think it's genuinely heartbreaking that we live in a wealthy country, and according to the East Lothian Courier, one in ten in East Lothian are likely to use a food bank this year. This means that most of the people you pass in the street or know are struggling.
“The support is something that I will be continuing to do for the foreseeable future and I plan to do this for the rest of the year at least. I am also looking to do more charity work outside this and have signed up to be a volunteer at the food bank.”
You can follow Hannah's Instagram here and TikTok here.
To learn more about the East Lothian food bank, click here.
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