MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. — After the news got around last week that former Seahawk Richard Sherman donated to the Maple Valley Food Bank, the food bank's Executive Director Dan Lancaster said it kickstarted a huge response.
“The overall impact has been tremendous. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Lancaster.
Sherman, who is now a 49er, arranged for a pick-up truck full of food to be donated after the Maple Valley Food Bank put out a message saying supplies were getting low.
Lancaster said since that pick-up arrived, it's been non-stop donations by the community ever since.
The response has even gotten the attention of Richard Sherman's Blanket Coverage Foundation, which inspired an idea.
The Foundation is now challenging Maple Valley with a food drive competition, called "NFL Stars vs. Non-NFL Stars."
“[I said] Let's go get one of our big trucks and show him up,” said Chris Powell, who donated on the Non-NFL side.
On Saturday afternoon, Powell's company P'n'D Logging and Tree Service dropped off nearly 2 tons of food and made a $5,000 donation to Maple Valley Food Bank.
Besides the food bank, donation sites are also expanded to the local Fred Meyer, Grocery Outlet, and Walmart.
The competition is expected to last through the day before Thanksgiving.
“It’s the village around us that really made a difference."
