Middlesex FA are excited to be supporting Ealing Foodbank with our Sleep Out at Rectory Park in December, where staff will be spending the night at Rectory Park sleeping outside under the stars. We would be grateful for any support through donations on this page or dropping food in to our collection point at Rectory Park. To find their shopping list for the most needed supplies, please follow this link: https://ealing.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/.

We are very aware of the current financial climate, and the strains many families find themselves under. More and more people are finding themselves in the situation where they may need to engage with a local foodbank, and in Ealing Foodbank, we are partnering with the largest Trussell Trust organisation in London during the 2021/22 Financial Year.

In 2022 alone, the dedicated team at Ealing Foodbank served more than 39,000 people, with around half of those being aged 16 or younger, which shows just how many of those using the foodbank are families who have school aged children. To put those numbers into perspective, there are fewer people participating in organised football across our 9 Boroughs, than accessing this service in Ealing alone.

Having been the largest Trussell Trust in London during the 2012/22 financial year, they have gone on to see a further increase in demand in the following financial year. They surpassed the number of clients served in the previous financial year on 16th January 2023 meaning they are on course to see their busiest year on record. Their incredible team of around 300 volunteers work tirelessly to ensure their warehouse, and client centres are running smoothly, as well as a number of these volunteers holding specific roles that help the foodbank to operate.

Ealing Foodbank offers not only food to their users across their 8-foodbank session every week, but also the opportunity to engage with advice services at their centres. Across their 7 locations they host debt advisors from Crosslight, legal advisers and representatives from the London Borough of Ealing’s Local Welfare Assistance scheme.

On this new partnership, Middlesex FA CEO, Kayleigh Saunders said: “We are delighted to announce Ealing Foodbank as our new Charity Partner. Part of the reason for Middlesex FA moving to Rectory Park was for us to modernise and really build a relationship with our local community. This is an area of our work that we are proud to have seen develop over the past 4 years, and we are now looking to take this one step further."

“By working with Ealing Foodbank, this provides us and the wider community with a way to engage outside of football. Football is for everyone, and so is Rectory Park, we hope that we can work with Ealing Foodbank to provide another safe space that people can use to get the vital support they need.”