Islington Foodbank at the Emirates

We know from our own work in the community that Islington is a borough of extremes, where great wealth often lives right next door to poverty and deprivation. We have therefore linked up with Islington Foodbank to introduce a matchday food bank collection at Emirates Stadium that will run on every weekend match from the Wolverhampton Wanderers game on December 2 until the end of the 2023/24 season. 

The food bank will be open from 12.30pm until kick-off, and is on the podium level adjacent to the Tony Adams statue at the North East corner of the ground. If you’re able to help, Islington Foodbank is keen to accept baked beans, tinned fish, tinned soup, tinned fruit and pasta, as well as sanitary products and, over the next three weeks, any Christmas treats such as chocolates and snacks.

We previously set up food banks here on an irregular basis pre-Covid, but this one is the result of a joint effort between Arsenal in the Community, our Fan Services team, supporters’ groups and Islington Foodbank to offer greater support to local residents in need. Demand has grown steadily since 2011 as families struggle to make ends meet, and in 2022 Islington Foodbank distributed 33,000kg of food to more than 4,000 people, of whom 1,300 were children.

Islington Foodbank was established in 2011 and operates from Highbury Roundhouse on Ronalds Road. Over the years, Islington Foodbank has become an established pillar of the community, offering services to the most vulnerable members of the community.

It is open on Mondays and Saturdays from 1pm to 4pm. Run entirely by volunteers, the food bank aims to provide people who find themselves in a crisis with three days’ worth of emergency food. Donations come from a range of sources: residents, supermarkets, local businesses and other groups. It depends on the generosity of residents to help replenish food stock levels.

For more information visit Islington Foodbank’s website here