Birmingham football stars help distribute food

Quinnen Williams

Former Wenonah High School and Alabama standout Quinnen Williams is a defensive tackle for the New York Jets. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)AP

Together Assisting People Inc. used Birmingham high school football stars past, present and future to give away 10,000 boxes of food at Legion Field this week.

Among the many loading cars as they pulled through the line on Wednesday were New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, Clemson linebacker Lavonta Bentley, Georgia Tech defensive lineman Mike Lockhart, Mississippi State defensive tackle Allen Love and Auburn outside linebacker T.D. Moultry.

Williams played at Wenonah High School and was an All-American at Alabama before entering the NFL as the third player picked in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Bentley and Moultry played at Jackson-Olin, and Lockhart and Love prepped at Huffman.

The produce-delivery company Forestwood Farms teamed with TAP to provide 200,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables for distribution. Corporate sponsors for the event included Alabama Power and Microsoft.

The giveaway aimed to help area residents whose difficulty in accessing food sources has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

TAP was founded by another former Alabama football player, Chris Rogers, a defensive back on the Crimson Tide’s 2009 BCS national championship team. TAP “is an education- and career-focused mentoring program for inner-city youth. The TAP program accepts students in grades 8-12 and helps them reach goals such as preparing for standardized testing, submitting quality college applications and securing scholarships.”

Another food giveaway is scheduled in Birmingham next week, hosted by Community Foodbank of Central Alabama and sponsored by Marcell Dareus, who will be among those loading the cars at the event.

The distribution will start at 11 a.m. CDT Thursday at Huffman High School. Event coordinators request those attending to enter at the Huffman Road entrance.

Dareus is a former Huffman standout who played at Alabama. Currently a free agent, Dareus has played nine years in the NFL, earned two Pro Bowl invitations and received first-team All-Pro recognition in 2014.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

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