Bristol man, Matthew Cox, is planning to give over 100 burger meals to the homeless across the city(Image: Matthew Cox)

Bristol man planning to give over 100 meals to homeless across the city

by · BristolLive

A selfless man in Bristol is planning to give over 100 burger meals out to those sleeping rough in the city today, Wednesday, December 11. Matthew Cox, organiser of the Wetherspoons Game and Giveaway group, is planning on the support of the 160,000 members to buy meals for the homeless.

The Wetherspoons Game and Giveaway formed in July 2021, with Matt and his brother, Dave Gorwill, wanting to create something a "bit different" to the other groups. Matt regularly does pitcher and gift card giveaways, but today they plan to do something even more special.

Matt, armed with the Wetherspoons Game and Giveaway group members, is set to do a homeless feed, offering burger meals to those in need across the city. All the support will come from the over 162,000 members of the group.

Explaining how the event works, Matt said he sits at a table, announces to the group where he is and the orders begin flowing in. Updates of the event will be posted here.

Currently a burger meal costs £6.32, which includes a burger, chips and a soft drink. Meals can be ordered through the app and will be sent to the table where Matt is set up. Alongside the burger event, Matt has planned for a similar 'snack feed' in another location in the city.

Last year, Matt ran a similar event across three branches at the same time. One in Bristol, another in Doncaster and one in Scotland all took place as a way to get food out to those in need.

Over the years, the Wetherspoons Game and Giveaway, which is run by Matt and other admin who work voluntarily, has done feeds including snacks, soft drinks and hot drinks. However, tomorrow will be their first time doing burger meals.

A selection of snacks handed out during the Wetherspoons Game and Giveaway(Image: Matthew Cox)

Matt will be at the V-Shed on Canons Road near College Green from 3pm. Alongside the help of Bosh, an outreach service for the homeless in Bristol, Matt and the Wetherspoons Game and Giveaway will provide hot food and drink to people across the city.

According to Bristol City Council's Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024-2029, the number of people sleeping rough in the city is rising again since the ‘Everyone in’ initiative during the pandemic.

In total, 9,123 people slept rough in Bristol in the 2022-23 financial year. This was a rise of 28 per cent from 2021-22.