Green Bay Packers players visited three Green Bay-area schools Tuesday, Dec. 5, as a reward for their participation in the Packers Women's Association Food Drive that took place prior to the Packers-Rams game, Oct. 8.
Twenty-one area schools participated in the food drive in the form of a food collection competition the week leading up to the game.
Notre Dame Elementary & Middle School, De Pere, Wis., took first place honors among the schools involved, collecting 18.81 pounds of food per student. Notre Dame captured top honors in 2003 and 2004 as well.
Packers fullback Brandon Miree spoke to an all-school assembly and congratulated them on their effort and also encouraged them to keep up their good work and make good decisions in their lives.
"Their work in the food drive was incredible," Miree said. "It was about teamwork and coming together. It's awesome what they did and coming out on top."
Miree also appreciated the opportunity to connect with the students.
"It's a blessing to be able to come out and interact with the kids and give back to the community any way you can. It's a passion of mine. When you can help them make decisions, and give them information about how to make those decisions, it's a good thing."
East De Pere Middle School took second place honors, collecting 4.92 pounds per student, and received a visit from Patrick Dendy and Marviel Underwood. Lombardi Middle School was randomly drawn to receive a player visit and saw Josh Bourke and Jason Spitz stop by. Players helped serve lunch and visited with students at the respective two schools.
Overall, more than $13,000 was raised and 22,400 non-perishable food items were collected in this year's effort. In 20 years of conducting the food drive, the PWA now has collected nearly 566,400 non-perishable food items and more than $190,000 for Paul's Pantry, a supplementary food distribution program for the needy in the greater Green Bay area.
