A FOOTBALL club is helping those in need, in support of Marcus Rashford’s food poverty campaign.

Leigh and Bransford Badgers chairman Simon Secretan has helped create a permanent collection point at the home of Malvern Town FC for Malvern Hills Foodbank.

Mr Secretan approached district council leader Cllr Sarah Rouse for support, and the donation point was approved, Cllr Rouse supporting it with her ward budget.

Chris Pinder, chairman of Malvern Town FC, agreed to host the donation bin at the HDAnywhere Stadium, where The Badgers carry out their winter training on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings.

Mr Secretan said: “With so many players, if they bring just one item weekly, every other week or monthly, what a massive difference we can make to the community that surrounds both clubs.We hope ‘when we train or play, we donate’ will become the norm.”

Cllr Rouse said: “Sadly, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is going to increase the need for the service our foodbanks provide and schemes like this one are going to be important so we can make sure nobody goes hungry.”

Peter Buchanan, chair of Malvern Hills Foodbank, said: “Malvern Hills Foodbank is delighted to know that the football community is supporting us.

“We wish that as a society we did not need to have foodbanks and that everyone had sufficient money to meet their needs.

“However, as long as the need remains, we will seek to help the most vulnerable in our society, which we can only do thanks to the generosity of so many in the Malvern district.”

Mr Pinder said: “If every fan brought just one item of food for our Foodbank collection box before every home game, we’d easily fill it. I’m asking everyone to raid their cupboards and let’s do our bit.”

Manchester United and England forward Mr Rashford’s petition to end child food poverty lead to a motion put down by Labour that was defeated by 322 votes to 261 on Wednesday.