Part of any college football bowl is the week leading up to the game. Both teams are hosted by a bowl committee and the local community while taking part in activities that are particular to that area. For the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, NC this week, there was going to a Charlotte Hornets game, driving at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and helping a local food bank. On Wednesday, Wake Forest and Mississippi State players stepped up to help Charlotte residents in need.
### Bagging the Food
Players from both teams took part in bagging food at the Second Harvest Food Bank distribution center in Charlotte. The center is a warehouse full of cases of various food items donated by companies. They also work in conjunction with local Food Lion supermarkets in distributing food to families in need.
Mississippi State players hit the first shift of what was an assembly line format. Some players were in charge of grabbing the empty canvas bags and making their way down a row of different non-perishable food items. They had teammates stationed at each of the boxes of the food items, helping them fill the bags. And then there were other teammates at the end of the process, tying up the bags and quickly getting them into large boxes.
### Helping Local Families in Need
The overarching goal was to help package as many of the bags for distribution within the given time. But for good measure, the setup had the offense on one side, competing against the defense on the other side.
The bags are being distributed to families who rely on school meal programs throughout the city, but are impacted during the holidays when schools are closed.
Photo courtesy: Tony Siracusa
### The Bigger Meaning of the Effort
Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert said the community outreach matters to the program just as it matters to those it helps. “In today’s world, everyone wants to talk about money and contracts. But we’re talking about raising better leaders, better men. Better people that want to get out and make a tremendous impact in their communities.”
While Dickert was talking, there was loud activity behind him, with the players challenging each other in the food bag competition, with music in the background keeping the energy level high. Wake Forest center Devin Kylany was moving faster than we are used to seeing the big men move. He was lapping teammates, carrying three and four bags at a time to fill along the assembly line. And like a center makes the verbal calls based on what he sees in front of him, Kylany was shouting out for the specific food items he needed for his bag before jogging down to the end for players to tie the bags up. “That’s what I want out of our leaders,” Dickert said of Kylany’s efforts.
“I think when you have the spirit of giving back, it’s amazing what you can accomplish together,” Dickert said. “We know the good that we’re doing in our local communities, and that’s really important.”
### Who Won?
Unofficially, the offense for Mississippi State beat the Bulldogs’ defense in producing more food bags. And the Wake Forest offense beat the Wake Forest defense. Kylany was not going to allow any other result.
The total number of bags prepared by the two teams was not yet final when we left the event. But eyeballing the number of large boxes that were getting filled by each team at their separate events, clearly several hundred Charlotte-area families will be taken care of during the time away from school-provided meals.
Main Image: Tony Siracusa