A Nottingham Forest director has told talkSPORT of how the club donated almost 3,000 food parcels to a local homeless charity after their game against Reading was postponed.
Saturday’s Championship clash at the City Ground was called off due to a waterlogged pitch after a day of heavy rain in the area.
The decision was made just hours before kick-off, meaning the club had food enough for 30,000 people prepared and potentially going to waste.
And so Forest made a huge donation to a local charity, who handed out pies, pasties and sandwiches in the local community to help feed the city’s homeless.
Nottingham Forest club director Jonny Owens joined talkSPORT on Monday to discuss Saturday’s events, and said it’s an example of how football teams across the country do vital work in their local communities which often goes under the radar.
Speaking to talkSPORT host Natalie Sawyer, he said: “The game was called off on Saturday and we were left with all this food that was prepared for matchday.
“So the board made a very quick decision with the community trust to try and get it out to as many people as possible in Nottingham.
“We have a relationship with a charity called Framework who do fantastic work in Nottingham, and almost 3,000 food parcels went out to help feed the homeless.
“The fans have been absolutely fantastic as well, they are central to this. They helped feed the homeless across the summer in Nottingham.
“It’s the power of football sometimes that people don’t recognise enough, it can help in such as physical way.”
Owens is particularly proud of how active Forest have become in their community, and says it’s been a part of the DNA since Brian Clough’s celebrated tenure at the City Ground.
“When I see the work done by Nottingham Forest and all football clubs and players with their community Trusts and charities, it’s astonishing,” he continued.
“It’s the side of things people don’t talk about.
“It’s something in the club way back in the DNA of Brain Clough who was very active in the local community.
“A good example at Forest is that the club recently took over the local schools competitions that have been going for 100 years that had simply run out of money.
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“So Forest have stepped in so that schools in Nottingham can still play one another, and that’s funded by Nottingham Forest Football Club.
“These are all things people don’t know about that football clubs tend to do now behind the scenes.”