Charity and supermarket partnership will provide food and water for summer tournament
A deal has been struck between a charity and a major supermarket chain to deliver almost 19,000 meals and 21,000 bottles of water to this summer’s Homeless World Cup has been hailed as “remarkable” by tournament organisers.
Tesco and UK food redistribution charity FareShare will supply players and their coaches with 850 meals three times a day during the showcase event in Glasgow’s George Square.
Much of the food and water will be paid for by money raised from events held by Tesco workers.
The rest will come through Tesco’s Community Food Connection initiative with FareShare FoodCloud, which sees unsold food from stores go to those in need.
Our mission to make Glasgow the most inspiring place on the planet this July is very much on
Mel Young, who co-founded the tournament, said: “This is a remarkable gesture from Tesco, working in partnership with FareShare.
“The logistics of bringing players, coaches, and support staff, as well as the hundreds of volunteers together in Glasgow is significant, and the operational set-up of providing healthy meals three times a day is such a vital part of that.
“For Tesco to be providing absolutely everything, as well as all on-site water, is a hugely generous commitment which makes our efforts to talk about the key issues of homelessness and social inequality that bit easier. Our mission to make Glasgow the most inspiring place on the planet this July, is very much on."
The event will see 48 men's and 16 women's teams from 52 countries descend on the city from 10 to 16 July.
As well as supplying the meals, water and around 3,500 bananas to players on site Tesco will also provide each team with a guide for their stay in Glasgow via their community champion network.
Paul McCarter, Tesco store director, said: “Hosting the Homeless World Cup in Glasgow is a fantastic coup for the city.
“Our Community Food Connection programme already ensures unsold food is utilised by those who need it most so when the opportunity came up to feed the teams at this fantastic event, we were only too happy to come on board and help out.“Unfortunately Scotland won’t be at Euro 2016 this summer so hopefully having a major tournament in our own backyard will be some compensation.”
Gillian Kynoch, head of FareShare Scotland, said: “FareShare Glasgow & the West of Scotland are thrilled to be partnering with Tesco in order to supply food and water to the players and coaches of this year’s Homeless World Cup.
“The tournament empowers and inspires homeless people to change their lives through the power of football, and we are proud to be collaborating with Tesco to support the event in Glasgow.”
