The Great Coventry Foodbankathon has marked the beginning of a new partnership to support efforts to tackle food poverty in the city.
Coventry Building Society Arena has announced it will be working with Coventry foodbank as one of its community partners, fundraising and donating food and goods to support the charity’s operations.
The Foodbankathon passed through the Arena ahead of Coventry City’s game against Middlesborough on Saturday, with fans encouraged to donate a tin or contribute cash in support of the foodbank.
Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry City Football Club and Sky Blues in the Community joined forces to host the matchday collection, with the Arena being the seventh stop on a 34km route that called at each of the city’s 15 foodbank centres.
The Foodbankathon started from St Catherine’s Church in Stoke Aldermoor and finished at St Stephen’s Church in Canley and saw a record number of people take part on the day, with participants choosing to either run, walk, skip or cycle around the city.
Tom Davies, head of supply chain at Coventry Building Society Arena, was among the participants on the day and raised £450 in donations. He said: “It was hard work but a really good day raising awareness and funds for Coventry foodbank. We started at 9am and it wasn’t until after 7pm that we finished up, totting up 47,500 steps by the end.”
Ian Siddall, global relationship manager at Feed The Hungry, said: “This partnership is instrumental in changing the landscape of emergency food provision across the city of Coventry and beyond.”
The cost-of-living squeeze has left hundreds of people needing to use a foodbank in the city every week. Over 250,000 people have received food from the foodbank in the 14 years since it was founded.
Paul Michael, managing director at Coventry Building Society Arena, added: “This new partnership formalises our commitment and will allow us to work even more closely together to support people in need.”
