Cardiff Foodbank have thanked Metallica after the band donated a whopping £20,000 to help replenish stocks.
The Grammy-winning band played in the Welsh capital on Sunday evening at the Principality Stadium as part of their latest tour.
Alongside the boost to the economy that big events usually bring, Metallica gave a hefty donation to the food bank through the band’s foundation, All Within My Hands.
Two weeks ago, the bank put out an appeal for donations as they had never seen the warehouse ‘so empty’ and were ‘very worried’ for the people they help.
‘We had an email saying “This isn’t a scam, please get in touch with the foundation”,’ Rachel Biggs, CEO of Cardiff Foodbank, said. ‘They said “We are going to donate £20,000 to you”.
‘It’s an incredible amount of money which will make such a difference and replenish our empty shelves.’
The donation equates to around 9,000 meals, helping to support the 20,000 people who use the foodbank every year across the eight centres in the city.
Rachel called it their ‘largest celebrity donation’, having previously received money from Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour in 2024.
They shared at the time that the donation had allowed them to buy over one and a half lorries full of food, with Rachel calling it ‘generous’ but not revealing an amount.
At each stop of the Eras Tour in the UK, Taylor is believed to have made unpublicised donations to around 1,400 food banks and other local charities.
Rachel estimated her charity’s running costs sit at around £700,000 for the year, with demand for their services as high as ever, while donations are down.
‘What’s great for us [is] it helps raise the profile and what Metallica are doing is mobilising their fans, mobilising the local community,’ continued Rachel.
‘The number of people needing us is the same as last year, but our food donations have dropped by 27% and we’ve seen that reflected in the empty shelves.
‘When this donation arrives in our bank account we’ll be able to put in a bulk order and replenish stock and knowing the rest of the year we’ll have the support of the community.’
She added: ‘The cost of living impacts all of us, it also impacts our running costs and we know our donors are generous, but we know the cost of living is pinching their pockets too.’
Foodbank volunteer Eddie Cawston is a big Metallica fan and had tickets for the opening night concert on Sunday.
‘It shows that people who can make a difference are prepared to make a difference,’ he said. ‘They’ll make a phenomenal amount of money from the tour and they’re giving to us and other foodbanks as the tour goes along. It’s brilliant.’
Metallica launched All Within My Hands in 2017, with the aim of giving a proportion of ticket sales to various charities and food banks around the world.
They’re also collaborating with the Welsh Blood Service to encourage fans to donate blood and plasma while they’re in Wales, with gigs until July 3.