“Let’s get some hungry bellies fed" - Wetherspoons The Game to collect food for the homeless in Portsmouth
A popular Facebook game created by a Fareham man is hitting Portsmouth tonight as it looks to help feed the homeless.
Chris Illman started Wetherspoons The Game in 2018 and it has skyrocketed in popularity over the ensuing years. So much so that over the two groups he runs on Facebook there are over one million members.
The John Jacques in Fratton will play host tonight (December 8) with 100 paninis and snacks expected to be delivered to homeless shelters via local charity HUSH. The game sees strangers post pictures of themselves in the Facebook group and giving their table number with strangers then purchasing food and drink for them.
For the charity drive, Chris will start the game at 5pm allowing people to purchase panini meals which then be distributed across the city.
Chris said: “We are feeding the homeless in Portsmouth. From 5pm you will be able to send a panini to our table, these will then be collected by Billy from HUSH and given out to the local homeless community.
“It’s leading up to Christmas and it is so cold outside people need more help than usual. Let’s get some hungry bellies fed.”
Chris now spends much of his time travelling the country using the game to host food drives for the local homeless community (video embedded in this article is of a charity game in Fratton in 2023).
Wetherspoons The Game became so popular that Chris made a bet with a friend that if it passed 500,000 members he would change his middle name to Spoons, which he duly did in February this year.
The game utilises a quirk in the Wetherspoons app which allows you to order from your phone anywhere and send it to any restaurant with a table number.
Further information on the charity game tonight can be found on the Wetherspoons The Game Facebook Group.