Everton in the Community has partnered with the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and Meals & More to help combat holiday hunger across Liverpool.

The Club’s official charity has received £5,000 from the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, the charity arm of Everton’s stadia partner Sodexo and £1,120 from Brake’s charitable arm Meals & More to provide 1,000 healthy and nutritious meals to local children living in poverty.

Throughout the duration of the school holidays, Everton in the Community staff and Sodexo volunteers will hand deliver up to 200 meals each week to PL Kicks and 41 Goodison participants and their families as well as local charitable organisations in a bid to help tackle holiday hunger and relieve financial pressures on families who have been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Holiday hunger is an ongoing issue that has been exacerbated by the pressures of the pandemic with more than half of the families living in wards surrounding Goodison Park living in poverty. The donation from the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and Meals & More will be used by Everton in the Community to feed participants living in these areas of deprivation as well as promote key life skills such as the need for a healthy balanced diet and an active lifestyle.

Everton in the Community Senior Programme Manager Lara King said: “This generous donation from Sodexo and Meals & More will enable us to feed more than 1,000 young people and their families over the coming weeks. Child poverty is a prominent issue in Liverpool and sadly this has only increased as a result of the pandemic but these meals will go a long way to putting smiles on the faces of families who have struggled during recent months. I would also like to thank Gillions of Crosby for helping to provide us with a wide variety of healthy meals for our participants to enjoy.”

Gareth John, Chair, Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, commented: “Providing daily hot meals plays a key role in helping to reduce holiday hunger for children in deprived areas, and with this year’s pandemic, it’s more important than ever to support families living in these communities. I am proud that we are able to partner with Meals & More and Everton in the Community to make sure that less children go hungry this summer.”

Peter McGrath, Operations Director, Meals & More, added: “Sport and other activity can have a positive impact in engaging communities as well as reducing isolation of youngsters and improving their well-being. We are delighted to partner with Sodexo and through Everton in the Community be able to help these summer clubs by providing healthy meals for participants, who often have limited access to adequate meal provision during the school holidays.
The Stop Hunger initiative was created by Sodexo in 1996 to support a variety of charities that help to tackle hunger, either through directly feeding vulnerable people or skills training that equip individuals to improve their overall wellbeing and eating habits.

Meals & More, the independent charity initially set up by Brakes in 2015, provide support to children who live with poverty and social isolation and have limited access to adequate food provision and activity throughout school holiday period.