Metallica Gives £20K to Cardiff Foodbank for 9,000 Meals

Rock band Metallica just gave a struggling Welsh foodbank the boost it desperately needed, and the first email had to clarify it was actually real.

Cardiff Foodbank received £20,000 from Metallica's charitable foundation, All Within My Hands, ahead of the band's concert at Principality Stadium on June 28. The donation will pay for roughly 9,000 meals for people facing hunger across the city.

Rachel Biggs, the foodbank's CEO, told the BBC the first message started with an unusual opening line. The email began by reassuring staff: "This isn't a scam, please get in touch with the foundation."

The timing couldn't have been better. Cardiff Foodbank had recently appealed for help on social media after watching its warehouse shelves reach critical lows.

The charity supports about 20,000 people annually through eight centres across Cardiff. Biggs explained the donation would fund a bulk order to rebuild their depleted stock at a moment when they needed it most.

The Ripple Effect

Metallica's donation represents the largest celebrity gift Cardiff Foodbank has ever received. The charity has seen donations drop 27 percent compared to last year, while operating costs this year are expected to hit £700,000.

This isn't Metallica's first connection to the Cardiff community. Taylor Swift donated to the same foodbank during her 2024 Eras Tour stop, providing enough to buy one and a half articulated lorries of food.

Beyond the monetary donation, Metallica partnered with NHS Blood and Transplant to encourage blood donation during their UK tour dates. Fans who donate blood, platelets or plasma between June 26 and July 3 can receive exclusive Metallica merchandise while supplies last.

NHS officials say blood stocks dropped because of recent hot weather, with particular need for O negative, B negative and Ro subtype donors. One blood donation can help save up to three lives.

The band played a 16-song set at Principality Stadium, including a special moment when guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Rob Trujillo covered Tom Jones' "Delilah" as a nod to Welsh culture.

Sometimes the loudest acts of kindness come from the world's heaviest bands.