HOUSTON, TX - It’s a no-brainer that athletes stand as an influential pillar for a healthy lifestyle, holding an influential role for a broad consumer base and being associated by default with fitness.
The Ricky Davis Legacy Foundation is a non-profit organization established and founded by NBA star and 13-year veteran of professional athletics Ricky Davis. The celebrated athlete is using his span with several NBA teams to give back, and his latest move was to team up with Brothers Produce in Houston, Texas, to hand fresh produce and groceries out to the homeless.
“The foundation is really big on nutrition, so that’s why we hooked up with Brothers Produce to get them the fresh fruits and fresh vegetables they don’t get every day,” Davis told Fox 26 Houston in a video interview, expressing surprise and sympathy for how many people do not get the fresh produce they need.
At a time when movements like FNV, Produce for Kids, and more are looking to sway children towards picking fresh produce, Brothers Produce CEO Brent Erenwert told me he is hoping to see other produce people reach out to a demographic already won by our industry but without the means to enjoy it.
“The Ricky Davis Legacy Foundation approached me because of work Brothers Produce has done like this locally, and I would love to see more of our industry get involved,” Brent shared, calling it an eye-opening experience that made all the work to organize the event well worth it. “Much like when we were hit by Hurricane Harvey and everyone came together it would be wonderful to see us side by side, competitor or ally, friend or foe, to do something really good.”
Brent shares that the team is packing plastic bags with various produce items such as apples, bananas, berries, grapes, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, and plums before adding various toiletries like deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes. A GoFundMe can be found here.
“We then use a refrigerated produce truck to drive to about four to five areas in each city, handing out these care packs as well as cold water sports hydrating beverages,” he explains. “There will be news coverage in each city, as well as NBA players helping assist with handing out and packing of the bags.”
Ways to donate or help include providing product, services, volunteering, and/or donations towards the goods.
“Every little bit helps and together as an industry, united, we can make a difference in so many people’s lives,” Brent concludes.
Brothers Produce and the Ricky Davis Legacy Foundation are continuing to make an impact through fresh produce across the nation, with upcoming grocery giveaways slated for San Francisco, Detroit, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, and New York City, based on the Big 3 basketball league tour, owned by rapper Ice Cube.
“Using several of my distribution partners, growers, and vendors in the various cities, I plan on personally traveling to as many of these areas as I can. I want to more than coordinate this, I want hands on with this project and help as many as I can,” Brent shares. “At the end of our journey I plan on creating a montage to thank all those involved and share our voyage. I hope that through this we can as an industry do more and more projects like this.”
Please contact Brent Erenwert to donate or learn how to get involved.
