BBC News, Yorkshire<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Boxer Callum Simpson is hoping to help raise \u00a315,000 in three months to support a foodbank.<\/p>\n The British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion launched the “Fight Against Hunger” campaign during a visit to Barnsley Foodbank<\/p>\n He said he wanted to get involved “as much as possible” in order to understand issues of food poverty in his hometown.<\/p>\n “Barnsley has backed me since day one,” he said. “I am in the position I am because of my town, my community, so it’s only right I give something back.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The foodbank, which is part of The Trussell Trust network, supplied food to about 6,800 people in the year to August 2024, more than a third of whom were children.<\/p>\n Simpson added: “If you were to ask me a few months ago who uses a food bank I would’ve said people on lowest income, maybe single parent with kids, but it’s not [just] them.<\/p>\n “It’s families with two parents, working good jobs, some with kids some without [because] the cost of everything has gone up.<\/p>\n “People need a little help, people are going through a hard time.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Next month Simpson will fight Ivan Zucco for the European super-middleweight title at Barnsley FC’s Oakwell Stadium and the foodbank said his support was already providing a boost.<\/p>\n “We have had a real upswing in monetary donations because of his profile on this already,” said Andy Gaskell, fundraising officer at the foodbank<\/p>\n “Because he is a professional athlete he was really interested in the nutritional value of the parcels, and he said he could see they were healthy.<\/p>\n “That was affirming for us – to have an athlete say, ‘I can see the thinking here’.”<\/p>\n He said the hub spent about \u00a35,000 on food per month, so, if successful, the campaign would fund three months worth of meals for service users.<\/p>\n Mr Simpson said he was also looking for “long term” ways to support the cause.<\/p>\n “It would be great if I could finish my career and there be no one in Barnsley going hungry,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Boxxer](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/be10\/live\/26174990-2a86-11f0-b7de-9bad89ac4cd7.jpg.webp\")
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