BATON ROUGE — LSU head coach Nikki Caldwell gathered her staff and her 13-member team on Tuesday to pitch a helping hand to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank this holiday season. Caldwell and the Lady Tigers spent an hour preparing backpacks of canned goods and other food items for needy children in the area.
The Lady Tigers formed an assembly line and teamed up to make nearly 400 bags of food, which equals over a month distribution of food to kids.
LSU in conjunction with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank has been accepting canned good items from fans in its previous home games and the Lady Tigers will do so again prior to Thursday’s game against Grambling. Barrels will be set up around the Maravich Center accepting food donations.
“We always talk about being of service to each other on the basketball court, but this is our way to be of service to our community here in the Baton Rouge area,” said Caldwell. “They did a phenomenal job in the assembly and working here together as a team.
“We all have to take a look at the circumstances around us. No child should go hungry. We should all do our part, even if it is simple as something like donating food or volunteering your time. To me that is what we are all supposed to do. We should all be givers and lend a helping hand.”
LSU senior forward LaSondra Barrett, a Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award nominee, said the team learned a lot from the experience and cherished the opportunity to volunteer.
“Just being able to reach out and help is special to us,” said Barrett. “There are a lot of people and children out there in poverty and we need to recognize that we can all help. It’s great for us to work as a team for such a worthy cause. I think it was a team bonding experience for us.”
The mission of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank is to feed the hungry in Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes by providing food and educational outreach through faith-based and other community partners. For more information on how to donate, visit www.brfoodbank.org.