Back of the net! Hammers' star strikers roll up their sleeves to cook giant curry

APPEAL PASSES £1m MARK THANKS TO £500,000 DONATION FROM SAINSBURY'S

- David Cohen

THE Evening Standard Christmas campaign broke through the £1 million mark today, thanks to a £500,000 donation from Sainsbury’s to help us tackle rising food insecurity across the country. It came as West Ham United Football Club backed our Winter Survival Appeal in partnership with Comic Relief, with star strikers Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio visiting the Felix Project in Poplar. The Sainsbury’s donation will be split between two of our chosen charities, the Felix Project and FareShare, the biggest surplus food distributors in London and the UK respectively.

Ruth Cranston, Sainsbury’s director of corporate responsibility and sustainability, said: “We are aware how difficult times are for many people, especially through the colder months and so, for the second year in a row we are supporting the Evening Standard and Comic Relief appeal. We are working to tackle food poverty and support communities in need through our Nourish the Nation programme and our donation will support our partners FareShare and the Felix Project to provide the equivalent of 1.5 million meals to communities facing food insecurity across Britain.”

Bowen and Antonio put on aprons over West Ham tracksuits to help prepare hot meals for the hungry. As instructed by Felix chef Ali Shanavas, Antonio added sprinkles of spinach to a giant industrial-sized pan cooking chicken curry which he stirred with a paddle, and then he and Bowen began packing some of the 4,500 ready-to-eat meals produced by the Felix Project social kitchen every single day. “These are quality ingredients,” said Antonio. “With the cost-ofliving crisis going on and more hungry kids than ever, we need more charities like this. To turn out nearly 5,000 meals a day — that’s massive.”