Manchester United Foundation, Manchester United FC and FareShare Greater Manchester are joining forces to provide 80,000 meals to families from local communities as part of the Foundation’s Santa’s Red Helpers Christmas appeal.
We heard about the campaign last week when Man United Foundation CEO John Shiels joined us for the Sport for Business Sport for Social Good Conference and now the detail of what is being proposed has been confirmed.
FareShare has so far donated 33 tonnes of food to the Santa’s Red Helpers campaign, which will be turned into 80,000 meals by club chefs, to be delivered to children and families from Foundation partner schools, food banks and other external charities this Christmas.
Manchester United ambassador Denis Irwin visited FareShare (pictured above) to meet the staff and find out more about the vast operation and the impact the donations will have on its recipients.
“It’s an inspirational and incredible operation,” said Irwin. “The amount of families and children in need, people who need the most basic things, like food – it’s an eye-opener.”
“Manchester United is a huge football club, but we are committed to working in the community and the Foundation does a tremendous job. It’s a great effort on behalf of Manchester United and FareShare that we’ve partnered up so we can deliver these 80,000 parcels to partner schools and charities around Christmas. It can be a tough time for many people and unfortunately, it’s only going to get tougher for some.”
Once received at the stadium, the food will be prepared, packaged and distributed by Manchester United chefs and staff, to ensure the 80,000 meals are delivered to those in need of support before Christmas.
“2020 has been a really challenging year for so many across the country,” said Man United Chief Operating Officer Collette Roche.
“The issue of food poverty has been significant, worsened by the Covid-19 crisis and aggravated further during the holidays when many children cannot get access to free school meals.”
“Many have rallied to this particular cause and we are proud to be able to play our part. We’ve scaled up our partnership with the Foundation and with FareShare, bringing our resources together, to produce 80,000 meals over the festive period. We thank all the fans and staff who have contributed to this important project.”
FareShare is the UK’s biggest food charity and is a founding member of the Child Food Poverty Taskforce, set up to help end child hunger in the UK and spearheaded by United player Marcus Rashford. More than 500 businesses across the supply chain regularly divert their surplus food onto FareShare – including retailers, independent stores and local organisations.
Along with financial support from Manchester United players and staff, including a £250,000 commitment from the players, the Santa’s Red Helpers appeal encourages fans to donate where possible to provide Christmas presents and food parcels for those who may otherwise go without. Club and Foundation staff are also helping to fund, pack and deliver items for those in need.
The campaign follows Manchester United Foundation and the club’s ongoing response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the previous collaboration with FareShare to provide 5,000 free school meals during the October half-term break.
Read more about Sport for Social Good and download our 2020 Annual report on the subject, supported by Allianz.Sport for Business Sport for Social Good Report 2020
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