Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust, backed by Cardiff City Football Club, is organising its eighth foodbank collection this Christmas to help those in food poverty and struggling desperately to make ends meet in the Rhymney Valley area. A food donation point will be set up from 12.30pm close to the Trust office, near Gate 5, before Cardiff City’s clash with Southampton on Saturday, December 12th, 2026. The collection will close at 2.45pm just before kick-off. Here is a list of food items most urgently needed by the Rhymney Valley Foodbank: Cereal, Soup, Baked Beans/Spaghetti In Sauce, Tomatoes,Pasta/Rice/Noodles, Pasta Sauce, Tinned Vegetables and Fruit, Tuna, Meat, Rice Pudding/Custard, Biscuits, UHT Milk, Tea/Coffee, Longlife Fruit Juice, Sauces Jar/Packet, Pot Noodles Chocolate & Snacks but NO short-date perishable food, please. Chair of Trustees Rev Canon Mark Owen said: “Rhymney Valley Foodbank has been supporting people with lived experience of hunger and hardship in local communities across the Upper Rhymney Valley since 2012. “Over the years, the need for the foodbank has increased enormously. When we first established, we were providing food aid for a few families a week, now we are feeding more than 5,500 people annually. “While emergency food is an important part of what we provide, our work goes beyond putting food in a parcel. When someone comes to us, we take the time to understand their circumstances and triage their needs, helping to identify the support that could make a longer-term difference by building their capacity and financial resilience enabling them to buy food with dignity and no longer need to rely on emergency food. “The scale of need remains significant. In the last year, Rhymney Valley Foodbank provided 5,241 emergency food parcels to people in need across our communities. Many of these food parcels went to a significant number of children. “Without the support from organisations like yours, Rhymney Valley Foodbank would simply cease to exist. We receive no core funding from central government and rely on the generosity and charity of local people, businesses, community organisations, schools’ colleges, churches and Chapels and this enduring support is incredibly important to us. “We are delighted to be invited to the match day collection and are extremely grateful to Cardiff City Supporters’ rust, Cardiff City FC and its supporters for helping us raise awareness and collect much-needed donations for people across the Rhymney Valley." The foodbank’s primary base is in St Peter’s Church, Aberbargoed and there are also two other distribution centres (community hubs) located in New Tredegar and Rhymney. Trust Chair Mike Spear said: “This will be the Trust’s eighth foodbank collection in five years. We are so, so thankful for the generosity of Bluebirds fans time and time again. “The support families and individuals need is undoubtedly greater than when we started the collections back in 2021. Food bills continue to rise but there has been a huge impact on families through the enormous increase in energy and fuel prices. “So we once again appeal to supporters to give whatever they can afford to - whether it is a single jar of food or a bag of items. Anything donated will make Christmas a little easier for families and individuals on the breadline.” The Trust chair thanked Cardiff City Football Club, its staff and players for their continuing support for the Trust’s foodbank collection .
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