Everton in the Community (EitC) staff and volunteers have been providing “invaluable” support to a local foodbank facing unprecedented pressures to help those in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

North Liverpool Foodbank supplies food to help combat poverty and hunger across Merseyside. It helped to feed almost 8,000 people across the region last year.

A significant portion of its donations come from Fans Supporting Foodbanks – a joint initiative between Everton and Liverpool FC supporters to collect items on matchdays.

The essential social distancing measures introduced to help reduce the spread of coronavirus has seen demand for food parcels soar, with many already-vulnerable people now unable to leave their homes.

EitC workers and volunteers have been organising and packing parcels at the foodbank’s city centre warehouse on Paul Street, and also assisting in delivering packages.

EitC Volunteer Manager Adam Howard has been a regular at the warehouse in recent weeks.

“It’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done,” he said.

“We went out to Kenya last year with some of our volunteers and we gave food to families out there.

“You see that desperation first-hand. You never expect that to happen on your doorstep – but that’s what we’re seeing here.

“If a hamper feeds a family for a week or a month, you can’t put a price on that.

“For people in that vulnerable group who can’t leave the house, it means these donations are even more important. If you’ve got a family network, it might not be too bad, but some people don’t have that. The foodbank deliveries are vital.”

Jo Browne, North Liverpool Foodbank Coordinator, describes the work of EitC’s staff and volunteers as “just amazing”.

She outlined the scale of the foodbank’s efforts in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s extremely busy,” she says. “We’re doing all we can.

“Our foodbank is for the most vulnerable people who are in food crisis.

“People are finding themselves in a situation that they’ve never been in before. You’ve got people who are used to working who have had their incomes slashed.

“We’re finding we’re getting a lot more calls from people.

“We wouldn’t be able to do half of the work we do without Everton’s help.

“The Everton staff and volunteers’ have been fantastic, especially during these hard times.

“We’ve always had a great link with the club. They’re marvellous and they’re always willing to give up their time for us.”

EitC’s Howard revealed how the Covid-19 pandemic has not curtailed the eagerness of the charity’s volunteers to lend a hand.

“We’ve been helping at the foodbank since January, with about 30-40 different volunteers taking part,” he says.

“Even during the coronavirus outbreak, which is such an uncertain and worrying time for all of us, I’ve had loads of volunteers get in touch and say they want to help out.

“We’ve had to curb and manage that, though, to support their health and safety.”

Their efforts have been part of Everton’s Blue Family initiative, an outreach campaign to assist the most at-risk members of the community in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Blue Family has been brilliant to be a part of,” Howard added.

“We’ve had great feedback from supporters. I recently spoke to an isolated fan who is in his 90s, who we got in contact with, and he said, ‘It’s great to know Evertonians are sticking together’.

“It was really nice to hear that.”

>>>CLICK HERE FOR MORE ABOUT BLUE FAMILY AND TO DONATE TO THE CAMPAIGN<<<

Helping to coordinate the charity’s work at North Liverpool Foodbank is one of EitC Neighbourhood Manager Sarah Atherton’s key roles during the campaign.

With no games at Goodison Park or Anfield over the coming weeks – and therefore no matchday foodbank collections - Atherton revealed Everton has organised for considerable contributions to be made from another source.

“Brakes – our food supplier for USM Finch Farm and Goodison Park – will be donating a large amount of food once a week for the whole of April,” she said.

“We’ve kept our account going with them, but we are using that food for the foodbank and for those who need it most. The first load arrived on Wednesday. It’s a substantial amount.”

Atherton is also part of a team making calls to Evertonians in isolation, providing a friendly voice to chat to and emphasising the Club’s support during this challenging time.

She has also helped to deliver food hampers to vulnerable and elderly supporters.

“It’s massive for us to be able to help,” she said. “It’s actually quite emotional.

“A lot of people are on zero-hour or short-term contracts, so when they self-isolate they have not got any income coming in at all.

“They are more reliant than ever on foodbanks.

“The work we are doing is helping to meet the needs of the community, which is what EitC is all about.”

>>>DONATE TO THE BLUE FAMILY CAMPAIGN AND DISCOVER MORE BY CLICKING HERE<<<

Blue Family has also seen the Club and charity introduce a referral form enabling fans and the wider public to refer people they believe might need a friendly voice to speak to at this difficult time.

>>>CLICK HERE FOR THE REFERRAL FORM<<<

During the coronavirus pandemic, people are reminded to stay at home to support the NHS and help save lives. For full details of the Government guidance, visit here.

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