GENEROUS football fans have donated 804kg of food and more than £500 in cash to Middlesbrough Foodbank.

Middlesbrough Supporters Forum organised the collection before the club's recent home game against Reading on Saturday, February 10.

With the support of Middlesbrough Football Club, the Forum arranged a donation point outside the North Stand ticket office for dry and non-perishable foods, or cash donations.

Boro fans attending the match were joined by Reading supporters in helping to make the initiative a success.

Caroline Walker, chairwoman of Middlesbrough Supporters Forum, said: “There was never any doubt that Middlesbrough fans would rally round to help those in their local community who are facing a difficult time.

“For Reading fans to also travel with bags of food really topped off a fantastic and heart-warming day.

“The most common question asked was ‘are you doing this again’ and with the great support we received from the football club we hope to do just that.

“We’d like to thank every single person who brought along a donation and also to the volunteers who gave up their time to help out.”

And Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club and Middlesbrough Supporters South both made significant donations to the cause.

In addition, the Club’s retail shop acted as a drop-off point and Club stewards held their own collection.

It is hoped that further collections will be held in the future and details announced through Middlesbrough Supporters Forum.

Middlesbrough Foodbank is part of a nationwide network, supported by the Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.

‘Fans Supporting Foodbanks’ is an initiative that has been embraced by a number of clubs, including Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle United and Celtic, and is being launched nationally over the next few months.

Soroush Sadeghzadeh, project manager at the foodbank, said: “It was great to see the supporters on both sides supporting the work of Middlesbrough Foodbank and we were all overwhelmed by the generosity of people. This is a wonderful response, which will help us in feeding families and individuals who are in crisis in the local community.”