Kind-hearted St Johnstone fans will this weekend begin the first of many match day collections in order to gather donations for the local food bank.
The new initiative – Saints Fans Supporting Foodbanks – is set to launch before Saturday afternoon’s Scottish Premiership game against Aberdeen at McDiarmid Park.
Home and away supporters are being encouraged to drop off non-perishable foodstuffs and toiletries in front of the Ormond Stand any time between 1.30pm and 2.50pm.
Reaching this point has been possible thanks to research and preparatory work carried out by supporters’ liaison officer at Saints, Beverley Mayer, together with members of the recently-formed Fans Forum Steering Group.
Colin Mackay (60), from Perth and who has been a Saints fan all of his days, is one of the coordinators helping to drive the food bank collection forward.
“I retired nearly 12 years ago after 30 years in the police and you see people at their best, when they are at their worst and when they are really in a place of need,” he told the PA.
“It’s really exciting to get this initiative up and running at McDiarmid Park, and I’d like to thank the club very much for their support. The club has been magnificent, allowing us to have a space in the car park and to do our collections.
“I have seen this happen at other grounds. There are no rivalries between fans and fans of both clubs give to help out the most needy in their community.
“You get thousands of people at a football match. If even a small percentage takes along a donation, it makes a massive difference to the food bank.
“Perth and Kinross Foodbank do a fantastic amount of work and we can play a small part in helping them.”
Fans Supporting Foodbanks was initially formed in Liverpool in 2015 and has quickly grown into a network of fan-driven food bank collection points across the UK.
This has demonstrated the “power of football communities to stand together, no matter what team you support.”
Fans Supporting Foodbanks Scotland was established last year with the aim of having supporters of all 42 SPFL clubs involved in collecting items at their matches.
“All of the messages we’ve had back have been encouraging,” added Colin, who is also a trustee with Saints in the Community.
“It will take a while to get the message out fully but people will maybe see us on Saturday collecting in front of the Ormond Stand.
“We’re hoping people will then have a wee look for future games and see what items are required, whether a tin of food or a tube of toothpaste.”
Items highlighted as most needed for Saturday’s collection include cereal (small boxes), instant meals, nappies (size four and five), shampoo, small bags of rice and small jars of coffee.
Colin, who hopes both Saints and Aberdeen fans can join forces on Saturday, said: “Hopefully we can gather lots of items that will go to the people who need it most in our community.”
