Coventry Building Society Arena partners with Coventry foodbank

The Great Coventry Foodbankathon has marked the beginning of a new partnership to support efforts to tackle food poverty in the city.

Coventry Building Society Arena has announced it will be working with Coventry foodbank as one of its community partners.

The partnership will see the organisations work together on fundraising and awareness initiatives and events, with the Arena also donating food and goods to support the charity’s operations.

The Foodbankathon passed through the Arena ahead of Coventry City’s game against Middlesborough on Saturday, with fans encouraged to donate a tin or contribute cash in support of the foodbank.

Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry City Football Club and Sky Blues in the Community joined forces to host the matchday collection, with the Arena being the seventh stop on a 34km route that called at each of the city’s 15 foodbank centres.

The Foodbankathon started from St Catherine’s Church in Stoke Aldermoor and finished at St Stephen’s Church in Canley.

It saw a record number of people take part on the day, with participants choosing to either run, walk, skip or cycle around the city.

Tom Davies, Head of Supply Chain at Coventry Building Society Arena, was among the participants on the day and raised £450 in donations. He said: “It was hard work but a really good day raising awareness and funds for Coventry foodbank. We started at 9am and it wasn’t until after 7pm that we finished up, totting up 47,500 steps by the end!

“A special thanks goes out to the volunteers at the food banks throughout the city who welcomed us in for tea and cake to fuel us for the next leg of the journey.

“This is only the beginning of our partnership with Coventry foodbank and we are looking forward to supporting them on their upcoming projects.”

The new partnership builds on an existing relationship between Coventry foodbank and the Arena. The venue already operates The Final Course, in partnership with Feed The Hungry, which encourages delegates at our conferences, meetings and events to donate to the foodbank.

Ian Siddall, Global Relationship Manager at Feed The Hungry, said: “We want to thank the incredible team at Coventry Building Society Arena for the opportunity to partner together.

“This is just the start of an exciting relationship between us and the Arena, which will support and impact some of the most vulnerable communities across the region.”

In 2024, almost 21,000 people in Coventry needed to use a foodbank, more than two thirds of the capacity at Coventry Building Society Arena.

The cost-of-living squeeze has left hundreds of people needing to use a foodbank in the city every week. Over 250,000 people have received food from the foodbank in the 14 years since it was founded.

Paul Michael, Managing Director at Coventry Building Society Arena, added: “We have been supporting Coventry foodbank over the last couple of years and have seen first-hand the incredible work they do in our community.

“We aim to make a meaningful and positive difference to local people by working with our community partners.”

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