While Saturday’s Merseyside derby throws up the usual conflicts between Everton and Liverpool supporters, this weekend’s edition holds further significance as fans look to come together to combat food poverty in the city.
Saturday’s match will be the last Premier League derby at Goodison Park, as Everton’s new stadium nears completion, and Katie Carter from fans’ group The 1878s spoke to BBC Radio Merseyside on Thursday about how they want to mark the fixture.
“We do the flags at Goodison and we kindly have fans who sponsor our displays,” she said.
“We decided we always ask people to donate to us to be able to make the flags happen. We decided, why not give something back? How about we try our utmost to make this the biggest collection that the foodbanks have ever had at a football game?
“It’s not about Everton or Liverpool, it’s about people in the city coming together as we always do to help those most in need. If every single fan that went to the game, if possible, could bring one tin of food or toiletries, there wouldn’t be one hungry kid in this city on Saturday night.
“How good would that make you feel, knowing you have been a part of that and helped the people who most need it?”
When people see foodbank donations, the assumption is that food is the only thing those in poverty need. As Katie explains, the problems are rooted deeper than that.
“Things have cropped up this week that we didn’t know about,” she added.
“There are thousands of children on Merseyside who go to school with no deodorant on and haven’t been washed. They don’t have the products to do that.
“There is so much more than just providing food to people. Let’s help these children have better hygiene and stuff like that when they are going to school.”
