FOOTBALL fans are being urged to donate to a foodbank ahead of the new season.

The Middlesbrough Supporters Forum is asking fans attending matches throughout the season to donate food for the Middlesbrough Food Bank run by the Trussell Trust.

Their work for this season will begin with a collection at Boro’s first home match against Brentford on Saturday, August 10 and will form part of the now national initiative, Fans Supporting Food Banks.

The appeal comes after a foodbank in Thornaby was left with almost empty shelves on Saturday after thieves broke in and stole toiletries, coffee, and tins of meat and fish.

The community has since rallied round Thornaby Foodbank, which is independent and run entirely by volunteers, and kind-hearted locals.

The Trussell Trust works to combat poverty and hunger across the UK, providing three days of nutritionally balanced emergency food to people who are referred in crisis.

Chris Joseph, chair of Middlesbrough Supporters Forum, said: “Last season fans donated 1,631kg of dry and non-perishable foods and £1,325 in cash donations. This year the need is as great as ever, and we are challenging our fans to outdo themselves.

"We are also appealing to Brentford’s travelling fans to try to make a contribution too. Every little helps, and though we are of course delighted to receive bags of food, the more the merrier,, just one item from every fan from our 20,000-plus Boro fans would be a fantastic help and make a huge difference."

Soroush Sadeghzadeh, project manager at Middlesbrough Foodbank said:“Foodbank is a lifeline to many in the community who find themselves in crisis, and we need your continued support to respond to the growing demand for emergency food parcels.

"The school holiday period is always one of the busiest times of year for us as more families need to access the foodbank. We completely rely on donations, and have always been overwhelmed by the support of both home and away fans every time we’ve had a collection at the Riverside.

"We’re able to accept any in-date, non-perishable food, as well as monetary donations.”

Collection buckets and vans will be located in the Riverside Stadium car park near the North West corner of the stadium between the club Shop and the 12th Man bar, and organisers will be collection donations from 12pm until kick-off.

For a list of urgently needed items, visit middlesbrough.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donatefood.

To give a one-off or regular monetary donation, visit middlesbrough.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donatemoney.