Coronavirus: Aston Villa kitchen to cook hot meals for vulnerable Published duration 27 April Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic

image copyright Aston Villa FC image caption Villa Kitchen has been operating since January

Hundreds of hot meals will be cooked at Aston Villa's ground to feed vulnerable people across Birmingham.

The Aston Villa Foundation's Villa Kitchen will be expanded to accommodate up to 500 hot meals each week.

Local organisations will distribute them to those who need them most, the club said.

Funds raised from last year's sleep out event and a donation from the club's chief executive Christian Purslow have made it possible.

Mr Purslow said: "I am delighted to be able to support the Villa Kitchen, particularly during a time where this vital work will be needed more than ever, helping the most vulnerable in our society."

He said the club and its foundation will continue to "aid those who are in need in the city of Birmingham during these most uncertain of times."

The kitchen has been in operation since January, cooking 350 meals each week and distributing them to homeless people across the city through a range of outreach charities and organisations.

The club are working with the Active Wellbeing Society, who are coordinating initiatives to tackle food poverty on behalf of Birmingham City Council as part of a 'Brum Together' campaign.

Guy Rippon, head of the foundation said: "The Covid-19 situation means that there are now lots of vulnerable people who aren't eating as they should, so we are therefore expanding the reach through additional resources committed for the foreseeable future."

A fundraising page has also been set up for supporters to donate to the work of the Villa Kitchen.