Ipswich and Norwich fans team up to fight against food poverty
They're putting club colours aside to help raise funds for FIND and the Norwich Foodbank
Fans of Ipswich Town Norwich City football clubs are putting their club colours aside to help raise funds for FIND and the Norwich Foodbank.
The initial idea was started back in 2015 by 3 Liverpool fans who were raising money within their communities, working with Everton to support food banks across Liverpool.
From there the movement has grown, and now include 40 clubs.
Having previously raised over £5,600 in their first year as part of the initiative, Ipswich Town Fans Supporting Foodbanks are now encouraging fans to support foodbanks in both Ipswich and Norwich ahead of the final collection of 2023.
They have set up a fundraising page for the Blue Army to donate to the Norwich foodbank, whilst Norwich City supporters will be encouraged to support the Town’s affiliated partner FIND.
Elijah Aldridge is one of the leads for Ipswich Town fan's support and food banks he told us the ethos for them is:
"Hunger doesn't wear club colours"
He told us that "20% of people in East Anglia live under the bread line", with many reliant on foodbanks.
Elijah tells us he views the stats as an " indictment of the country and the failures of the people in power that fans across the country are having to... step up to protect their communities from food poverty."
He remarked that "something has to be done" to help with the the impact the Cost of Living Crisis is having on people: "We have to support each other through these tough times because a lot of people are one pay cheque away from that same situation, you never know when you might find yourself there."
Elijah continued, saying the fact that everyone's affected is a "massive motivation for doing this... and why it really resonates with people."
What the money goes towards
Money that's been raised previously has been used for a variety of things, for example giving bikes to children who haven't had Christmas presents and paying families' heating bills.
The Support So Far
Elijah told us the support they have received has been "brilliant" and that they have the majority of fans behind them.
They haven't set a target of how much they would like to raise because they say even a small amount would make a difference, but only a few days after launching the appeal they have already seen over £1000 worth of donations.