The Leeds United first-team squad have thrown their support behind the End Child Food Poverty initiative that has been backed by the city of Leeds, with the Leeds Community Foundation, Leeds City Council and local organisations working together to support as many struggling children and families as possible.
Captain Liam Cooper announced on Saturday morning that the squad will guarantee a donation of £25,000 to the campaign and continue to show their support and help where needed, to try and ensure that no family goes without during the school holidays.
Following a campaign led by fellow Premier League player Marcus Rashford to end child food poverty, the Leeds United players wanted to join the city’s business community in rallying behind schemes up and down the country to help provide free meals, with the Scotland international encouraging more people to get involved as “no child should ever go hungry”.
The Leeds Community Foundation are delivering a Healthy Holidays programme, which is a partnership project that supports thousands of children out of term time and is set to run over the upcoming school break. Since April, the programme has provided just under 130,000 portions of food to children and their families, alongside offering online activities, face-to-face activities, and activity packs delivered to their homes.
The programme is aimed at helping to reduce the impact of holiday hunger and other pressures that families experience, as well as providing increased opportunities and experiences for young people in the areas of greatest need.
Leeds City Council are constantly working to ensure every child who lives in poverty in Leeds has access to healthy and nutritious food during every holiday period, however in these tough times they are relying on the support of more generous organisations and individuals to be able to support all of the families and youngsters who need it, to really make a difference.
If you are in a position to provide support to the Healthy Holiday programme in Leeds – through resources or funding – please contact the Leeds Community Foundation at [email protected].
