Help Us Help Our Communities (SFSF)

St Johnstone Football Club has proved just how much of a Community focussed Club it is, in allowing fans group St Johnstone Fans Supporting Foodbanks to designate their match on 1st November versus Kilmarnock FC as a ‘Focus on Foodbanks’ Event.

As the winter approaches and temperatures drop, with high food prices and energy costs, the demand on Foodbanks across the Country will grow significantly, as many individuals and families struggle to make ends meet, and end up in a position of crisis. Christmas time can also exacerbate the problem as families agonise over how to feed their families as well as providing gifts for them.

Saints Fans Supporting Foodbanks aim to use the St Johnstone match on 1st November, to highlight the work, and the needs, of Foodbanks across the Country, as well as bolster the stocks of Perth and Kinross Foodbank as winter approaches. They will also be holding a cash collection for The St Johnstone Community Trust (Saints in the Community) Christmas Hamper project.

Colin MacKay, Co-coordinator of Saints Fans Supporting Foodbanks said, “The Club has been incredibly supportive of our group, since we started collecting in April this year, and we are delighted and very grateful that we have been allowed to designate the Killie match as our ‘Focus on Foodbanks’ Event.”

“In the days and weeks in the run up to the match, in addition to our normal Social Media posts, we will be handing out flyers in order to raise awareness of the event. We would also like to ask local businesses and places of work, if they don’t already have a permanent Foodbank Collection, to consider assisting our collections by having a food and toiletries donation point and a cash collection bucket, on our behalf, during the last week of October. Hopefully this will convince more businesses to set up a more permanent donation point in the future.”

“Immediately prior to the match we will have a prominent collection point in front of The Ormond Stand, taking in donations of non-perishable foodstuffs and toiletries for Perth and Kinross Foodbank, and we will also have additional volunteers positioned outside the stadium collecting cash donations, which will go towards Saints in the Community Christmas Hamper project.”

“At half-time during the match there will be a fan-led banner display in the centre of the East Stand, which will hopefully raise the profile of, and encourage support for, not only for Perth and Kinross Foodbank, but also for local Foodbanks in every area. We’d also like to encourage fans of other Clubs, who are not yet involved with the Fans Supporting Foodbanks network nationally, or Fans Supporting Foodbanks Scotland, to consider getting involved, and helping those in need, within their local areas.”

“Perth and Kinross Foodbank and Saints in the Community do amazing work, benefiting people across Perth & Kinross, and by supporting our ‘Focus on Foodbanks’ Event, people really can ‘Help Us Help Our Communities’.

Lori Hughes, Project Manager with Perth & Kinross Foodbank said, “Saints Fans Supporting Foodbanks serve as a terrific example of the type of community work that keep Foodbanks such as ours alive.  We are extremely grateful to the volunteers who willingly give up their time to partner with organisations such as ours to ensure no-one goes to bed hungry this winter”.

“Demand for our services continue to rise rapidly; with people who have never accessed a food project before, finding themselves confronted with escalating costs and limited means to ‘get by’.  The Perth and Kinross Foodbank was established to meet that gap over a decade ago and sadly, it has never been more needed”.

“Generous St Johnstone fans help us, to help those in need.  Only together can we unleash what makes our Fair City the kind and compassionate place we know and love.  Help spread a smile this Winter and demonstrate that our community not only cares, but acknowledges that we must face the cost of living crisis together as friends, families, neighbours and communities”.

Acknowledging the importance of the support provided to them, Francis Smith, CEO of The St Johnstone Community Trust, said,  “The ongoing donations from fans on a match-day are so important to us achieving our ambition to positively contribute to the impact poverty is having on families living in Perth & Kinross. During the recent Summer holidays we provided 338 free meals to children, and in October we will be able to do similarly. Fans are enabling us to reach more people in need.”

“Every Christmas we work in partnership with the SPFL Trust on their Festive Friends nation-wide project for older people experiencing social isolation. At a time of year that is often filled with joy, it can also be incredibly lonely for others. This year, out Festive Friends projects will include Christmas Hamper deliveries for those with limited mobility, and we will also host a Christmas lunch at McDiarmid Park, with music and games.”

“We try our utmost to fill our hampers with food goodies and meaningful, sustainable gifts. Fan donations will be so important to make this an extra special hamper delivery for nominated recipients this year.”

Any business or workplace in Perthshire, who would be prepared to support the ‘Focus on Foodbanks’ Event, by hosting a food and/or cash collection during the last week in October, should email fsfperthsaints@mail.com leaving details of their workplace and contact details.