Football club supporting the community with food bank

A football club has been supporting the community by running a food bank.

Since November, Aber Valley FC has been running the scheme every Saturday at the Aber Hotel in Abertridwr.

The South Wales Alliance Premier Division club was inspired by the work of Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford, who has been a vocal campaigner against child hunger.

“In November, we took part in Movember,” club committee member Dean Wood said.

“But instead of the typical challenge, we decided to give out free school meals to the community.

“The rugby club got involved and donated loads of food, which was really good to see.”

“But the football club has continued it as there are so many people who need help – it’s quite frightening.

“The football club wants to help the community during this difficult time, so we’re going to keep it going for as long as it’s needed.”

Mr Wood said playing his part in helping the community during the pandemic has given him a “sense of pride”.

He admitted: “I have struggled myself in the past.

“People unfortunately find themselves in these situations and a lot of the time, it’s out of their control.”

“We have received a huge amount of support from the community, including a huge £500 anonymous donation – we are grateful for all of it.”

As well as food, the club has also been providing football boots to the community

“It’s horrible to see, especially when children are affected,” Mr Wood continued.

“We have plenty of junior teams at the football club and we’ve asked for boots to be donated to them. If their parents cannot afford to buy boots, then we can help them out.

“Children deserve everything, and people deserve to eat.”

However, in recent weeks, the club has had to fork out money maintaining its playing field after it was torn up by quad bikes.

“We have had a couple of quad and bike issues with our football pitch.” Mr Wood said.

“The club is spending money to maintain it and repair the damages.

“We know it’s a public path, but we need something to stop the vehicles getting on there because it’s taking money away from the club.

“The club donates to the food bank and the money spent on repairs could be spent on donations.”

Anyone interested in donating to the food bank can contact Aber Valley FC or the Aber Hotel on Facebook.