Leeds United donate spare food from postponed Aston Villa match to local charities

The Whites saw their scheduled Elland Road Premier League clash rearranged due to a small Covid outbreak in Marcelo Bielsa's squad that meant Leeds were unable to field a competitive line-up.

United's hosting of Villa fell the same way as the postponed Boxing Day trip to Anfield to face Liverpool - which also saw Leeds link up with the Reds to donate spare food on Merseyside.

Despite the match in LS11 not being able to go ahead as originally planned, the club found use for the food that had been ordered for the game.

Around 2,000 pies and hundreds of sandwiches along with other fresh food such as eggs, vegetables, salads and fruits were distributed to a mixture of charities in Leeds.

Volunteers from St George’s Crypt, St Vincent’s Homeless Shelter, St Anne’s Resource Centre and Holbeck Foodbank were all recipients of the food which would've otherwise gone to waste.

Head of Catering at Leeds United, Rob Smyth, said: “With our game against Aston Villa being called off, we had some excess food that we had ordered in, such as pies and fresh produce, so we have tried to put what we can to use and give it to a number of local charities that look after those who are homeless and in need.

"Hopefully this donation will help to support the people that are really struggling during this time of the year.”

John Battle, who is a volunteer at St Vincent's Homeless Centre, added: "Christmas is a time when people are really put under pressure, and these donations of food are really needed to supply to people who desperately need it.

"Especially now as bills will be coming in, families will be queueing at the doors and they will be most grateful at the fact the club has donated this food, so a massive thank you to the club.”

Martin Patterson from St George’s Crypt also said: “We want to say a huge thanks to Leeds United for this fantastic and generous donation of food following the unfortunate cancellation of the Aston Villa match.

“The result is fantastic though because all of the food will be used to benefit the needs of vulnerable and homeless people, so on behalf of St George’s Crypt, Holbeck Homeless and Freedom for Girls at St Vincent’s Centre, we say a massive thank you once again to everyone at Leeds United and we send all the best wishes for 2022.”