Gosport Borough Football Club staff go above and beyond in Covid crisis

But some organisations, which have more resources and manpower, have ensured that it has gone to good use.

One such organisation is Gosport Borough Football Club, where the wheels have been turning non-stop all year.

The football club partnered up with supermarkets from across the surrounding area, as well as local charities, to ensure vulnerable families who were either isolating or at high-risk still had plenty of food in their homes.

These efforts were coordinated jointly by Privett Park bar manager Keith Slater, and community coorinator Deb Redpath, who also kicked off the Feed a Family in Need with the Boro project in August.

Gosport’s operations board member Colin Farmery said: ‘The work Keith and Deb have done in setting up the Feed a Feed a Family in Need scheme has been literally a lifesaver for some families in Gosport. As a football club we recognised early on that there would be a need to support people in the town as the pandemic began to bite and we pledged to do our bit to help.

‘The concept was fully backed by club chairman Iain McInnes, but it was the effort and enthusiasm of Keith and Deb which pulled together a team of volunteers who, at the peak in the summer, were supplying around 150 food parcels a week.

‘A crowdfunding campaign raised around £10,000 and local stores and businesses also have helped tremendously. We are all very proud of their efforts.’

Want to read more stories about Gosport? Join our Gosport News Facebook group to get the latest updates from the town.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.