The collaboration saw Mars Foodservice donate over 200,000 portions of Dolmio and Uncle Ben’s Professional sauce, which was used to provide thousands of meals throughout December.

The chefs at the Manchester United Foundation cooked the meals before they were delivered to frontline charities across the region.

Miranda Kaunang, head of development at FareShare Greater Manchester, said: “This year, more than any other, the work of FareShare is even more critical in ensuring that children and families can eat over Christmas.

“For us to achieve the aims of our Christmas campaign, the support and generosity of companies such as Mars Foodservice is paramount, and we can’t thank them enough for such a substantial donation.

“Christmas is such an important time of year for families and this project will try to ensure that putting food on the table is one less thing that vulnerable families need to worry about.”

During lockdown, over 50,000 people accessed FareShare food in Greater Manchester (a 92% increase on last year) whilst the charity also dispatched 2.3 million meals, largely to children and families (76%).

Rachel Leveridge, foodservice manager at Mars Foods UK, added: “We’re proud to be supporting FareShare and the Manchester United Foundation to help vulnerable families and children. Family mealtimes are hugely important, and we believe that no one should be going hungry over this festive period.”