Sussex Cricket and Sussex Cricket Foundation launch ‘Tea 4 Two’ Food Bank initiative

Following the successful return of recreational cricket this weekend, Sussex Cricket and the Sussex Cricket Foundation are delighted to launch the ‘Tea 4 Two’ initiative.  

The initiative encourages local cricket clubs to use their recently re-opened facilities as a hub for donations of food, with the Sussex Cricket Foundation today contacting all 182 affiliated clubs, urging them to get involved and partner with a local food bank. 

Club members and the local community will be able to drop off food donations while training and matches are taking place. A volunteer, nominated by the club, will then pick up the donations and deliver the food to the chosen food bank.  

The initiative is designed to dovetail and amplify the ECB’s national ‘Tea-A-Thon', which will see the cricketing community across England and Wales raise awareness of food poverty in the UK during the second #RaiseTheBat Test between England and West Indies.  

While Sussex Cricket and the Sussex Cricket Foundation wholeheartedly supports the ECB’s ‘Tea-A-Thon', we as a club are urging our fans, members, all 182 affiliated clubs and the county’s wider community, to go that extra mile. 

In Sussex alone, the demand on food banks has tripled over the past four months, with food poverty increasing significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The launch of the ‘Tea 4 Two’ initiative looks to combat this issue across the county of Sussex.  

In designing the initiative, Sussex Cricket and the Sussex Cricket Foundation are grateful for the help of the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership and the Independent Food Aid Network. 

For further information on how to get involved, please contact; Jon Filby Chair, Sussex Cricket Foundation – jon.filby@sussexcricket.co.uk  

This initiative was proposed and set up as part of a COVID-19 working group established by the Board of Sussex Cricket Ltd under the chairmanship of the President, Sir Rod Aldridge. The working group was established to recommend ways Sussex Cricket could make a significant beneficial contribution to communities across East and West Sussex. 

The working group have already been involved with the Together Through This Test auction, which saw all 18 first class counties, MCC, ECB and PCA raise over £35,000 for various local causes across England and Wales. Sussex Cricket raised £10,000 of the total and this money will be distributed to the community of Sussex to help charities and causes impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.