AS we continue to support those most in need in our communities, we turn our focus to another of the charity partners who will benefit through the Football for Good Fund – FareShare, who have been given £10,000 to support their work.

Based in Glasgow, FareShare is run by homelessness prevention charity Move On and redistributes surplus food to frontline charities and community groups.

The organisation’s aim is to deliver a food service to those who need it most, including homeless people, elderly people, children, refugees and people suffering mental and physical health problems.

FareShare also supplies a network of not-for-profit organisations, known as Community Food Members, from their Glasgow warehouse. The Community Food Members include hostels, day centres, lunch clubs, addiction agencies, young people’s projects and refugee centres.

John Hinton, Executive Director of Move On, spoke about what FareShare were doing during the current coronavirus crisis.

He said: “We’ve been busier than ever since lockdown started and have had to double the volume of food we distribute to meet demand. Since the start of lockdown, 218 tonnes of food, equivalent to over 519,000 meals, has been distributed from our warehouse in Glasgow.

“The disruption caused by the pandemic has hit vulnerable people the hardest, with widespread job losses, delays to benefits and foodbanks struggling as panic buying reduces donations.

“We’ve also seen schools and community centres closed, and many of our partners have been forced to adapt their service delivery. Much of our food is being turned into food parcels or home cooked meals and delivered door to door.

“We have had fantastic feedback from individuals and families, who have said our food supply is really helping alleviate some of this stress throughout these difficult times.”

John also thanked Celtic FC Foundation for the support received, saying: “Panic buying meant that the surplus food we rely on significantly reduced, so the funding from Celtic FC Foundation allowed us to purchase food directly from our suppliers instead.

“If it hadn’t been for this funding, we would have been unable to provide our vital food supply to the thousands of vulnerable people that rely on our support.

“We want to say an enormous thank you to Celtic FC Foundation for their generous support. The funding we received has been essential to keep our service running during this difficult time.

“We’re working with frontline organisations across Glasgow and the West of Scotland, so the support we’ve received has made a big difference to people’s lives from Dumfries and Galloway all the way up to the Isle of Mull.”

FareShare joins a host of organisations already confirmed as Football for Good Fund beneficiaries, including Geeza Break, Glasgow’s Golden Generation (for the elderly), FARE Scotland, Eric Liddell Centre, Glasgow North-East Foodbank, Birth, Baby and Beyond and NHS frontline staff at the Royal Infirmary in Glasgow.

To register for further details on the Football for Good Fund or any other Celtic FC Foundation activities, please email [email protected] and we will respond to you as soon as we possibly can.