Dec. 29, 2012
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DALLAS - The Heart of Dallas Bowl week experience is not just all about football, and a group of Oklahoma State players proved that following Saturday's practice as nine Cowboys volunteered an hour of their time at the North Texas Food Bank.
The North Texas Food Bank was started in 1982 and provides food for over 100,000 people in 13 counties annually. Over 38,000 volunteers contribute to the program and facility, and the Cowboys did their part at the 72,000-square foot facility Saturday.
"You never know how good you have it until you help somebody else out, and we learned that doing this today and it made us feel good," said OSU wide receiver Isaiah Anderson said. "It's good to represent your school and family in a positive manner. Coach (Mike) Gundy preaches that to us all the time so we just make sure we exemplify that in the community and spread the wealth around."
The Cowboy contingent formed an assembly line to fill sacks for the "Food For Kids" program. The food the players sacked, which included juice boxes, cereal, nuts, fruit and cereal bars, will be put in backpacks and distributed to area schools. The food will help sustain its recipient, who has little or no food available at home, over the weekend until he or she returns to school. The food bank estimates that it fills 11,000 such bags per week.
"It was great that we could do this for the kids," said OSU offensive lineman Lane Taylor. "Any time you can give back to the community, it's a great thing. I've always wanted to give back, and this was a good opportunity to do that. It brings a lot of joy to help others; there's people out there starving, and I know I'm helping them have another meal."
