Fans Supporting Foodbanks

Fans Supporting Foodbanks is a joint initiative between rival Liverpool F.C. and Everton F.C. supporters, founded in 2015 to tackle food poverty in Liverpool. It provides a quarter of all food donations to north Liverpool food banks and has helped to develop a network of fan-driven food banks across the UK. It is an example of progressive football fan activism.

Fans Supporting Foodbanks
MottoHunger doesn't wear club colours
Founded2015 (2015)
FounderIan Byrne
Dave Kelly
Robbie Daniels
PurposeReducing poverty and hunger in the United Kingdom through a system of democratic socialism
OriginsLiverpool, England
MethodFood banks

History

Fans Supporting Foodbanks is a partnership between Everton Supporters' Trust and Spirit of Shankly supporters' union. It was founded in 2015 by Liverpool fan Ian Byrne and Everton fans Dave Kelly and Robbie Daniels in response to rising food poverty linked to the programme of austerity implemented by the UK government from 2010.

Taking inspiration from Celtic F.C. fan group The Green Brigade, Fans Supporting Foodbanks started collecting food donations in wheelie-bins outside pubs on matchdays. Both Liverpool and Everton football clubs have shown strong support for the initiative.[1] As well as holding collections at home games, Fans Supporting Foodbanks bring food to donate to rival fans' foodbanks during away fixtures, as a show of solidarity. The group's motto is: "Hunger doesn't wear club colours."[2]

In 2018, Liverpool Football Club's CEO, Peter Moore, donated a vehicle through his foundation. Fans Supporting Foodbanks’ purple van (a mix of the two clubs’ colours) is used to transport food donations from across the city and can be found outside Anfield and Goodison on matchdays.[3] In August, Liverpool podcast and fanzine The Anfield Wrap commissioned a mural of Liverpool F.C.'s Trent Alexander-Arnold, created by French graffiti artist Akse, dedicated to Fans Supporting Foodbanks. The mural can be found on Sybil Road near the Anfield Stadium.[4]

Ahead of the 2019 General Election, Fans Supporting Foodbanks co-founder Ian Byrne was selected as the Labour's candidate for Liverpool West Derby.[5] On 12 December 2019, Byrne was elected with 77.6% of the vote.[6]

In November 2020, Fans Supporting Foodbanks launched a mobile community food pantry.[7]

Work

Countering the far-right

Fans Supporting Foodbanks consider their work as a response to football fan groups with links to the far-right, such as the Football Lads Alliance.[8] The group partners with religious and ethnic minority groups to organise joint collections and events with the aim of breaking down barriers between communities.[9][10] In 2018, Fans Supporting Foodbanks invited football fans to screenings of World Cup games at the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque.[11]

Journalist Ash Sarkar wrote in the Guardian:

"This endeavour shows that football doesn’t have to be the domain of racists and Islamophobes, and that mosques aren’t some culturally alien and terrifying enclave. By addressing the immediate economic conditions of the neighbourhoods around them, anti-racist activists can bring together seemingly opposed communities and close down the gaps where the far right are able to organise." [12]

COVID-19 response

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fans Supporting Foodbanks set up a new food distribution hub and co-ordinated efforts to produce personal protective equipment for frontline NHS and care workers.[13]

When football matches were being played behind closed doors and the Premier League charged £14.95 to watch some matches on television, Fans Supporting Foodbanks encouraged supporters to boycott pay-per-view matches and donate the amount to foodbanks instead, raising over £100,000.[14] Pay-per-view was scrapped soon after. [15]

Right To Food

In 2020, Ian Byrne and Fans Supporting Foodbanks launched a campaign for the Right to Food to be written into UK law.[16] In January 2021, Liverpool City Council unanimously voted to support the Right to Food being enshrined in law, making it the UK's first 'Right to Food' city.[17]

Awards
  • In 2018, Fans Supporting Foodbanks were awarded the Bill Shankly Community Award in the Liverpool Player of the Season Awards.[18]
  • In November 2018, Fans Supporting Foodbanks were awarded the Alan Ball "Ball of Fire" Award.[19]
  • In January 2020, Fans Supporting Foodbanks were named as one of The Big Issue's Top 100 Changemakers for 2020.[20]

References
  1. Reade, Brian (20 December 2018). "Everton and Liverpool fans unite for incredible foodbank appeal - but it puts the Government to shame". Daily Mirror.
  2. "Liverpool fans' amazing gesture to Newcastle foodbank". Liverpool Echo. 2 October 2017.
  3. Goulding, Jeff (14 October 2019). "Fans Supporting Foodbanks: "It's not charity, it's solidarity"". This is Anfield.
  4. "The story behind Trent Alexander-Arnold's new Anfield mural". ESPN. 9 August 2019.
  5. "Foodbank campaigner wins nail biting MP selection vote". Liverpool Echo. 3 November 2019.
  6. "Liverpool West Derby parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  7. "New mobile pantry where struggling families can pay £3.50 for £25 worth of food". Liverpool Echo. 31 October 2020.
  8. "Forget the Football Lads Alliance: Merseyside's progressive fan activists are the true faces of our sport". The Independent. 1 November 2018.
  9. "The Muslim families donating to food banks for Christmas". BBC News. 23 December 2018.
  10. "Join with "Fans Supporting Food Banks"". Mitzvah Day.
  11. "Fans in Liverpool cheer on Mohamed Salah in Britain's oldest mosque". BBC News. 20 June 2018.
  12. Sarkar, Ash (21 August 2018). "This isn't just a culture war – we need a radical anti-fascist movement right now". The Guardian.
  13. "Heroic efforts in Liverpool creating vital PPE for the NHS and getting food to the needy". Liverpool Echo. 18 April 2020.
  14. "Foodbank fundraiser from Liverpool fans boycotting pay-per-view match tops £100,000". Liverpool Echo. 25 October 2020.
  15. "Premier League clubs agree to ditch pay-per-view fee". Sunday Times. 5 November 2020.
  16. "The mission to end food poverty that is starting on the streets of Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. 20 December 2020.
  17. "Council's vote to make food a legal right is 'remarkable'". The Big Issue. 20 January 2021.
  18. "LFC Players Awards 2018". Liverpool F.C.
  19. @SFoodbanks (20 November 2018). "The Alan Ball "Ball of Fire" winners 2018 Fans Supporting Foodbanks" (Tweet) – via Twitter. |date= mismatches calculated date from |number= by two or more days (help)
  20. "Fans Supporting Foodbanks: Hunger doesn't wear club colours". Football 365.
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