BY MAURA DOWGIN
Staff Writer
EDISON — The Edison High School freshman football team ran a food drive Nov. 15 outside of ShopRite on Old Post Road.
The 12 bins of food the boys collected went to the Middlesex County Food Organization and Outreach Distribution Services. The organization provides food to more than 50 food pantries and soup kitchens throughout Middlesex County.
The 13 football players who participated also collected $145, with which they bought ShopRite gift certificates for the organization, said Dominica Cooper, a member of the Edison Football Parents Association.
The students braved the elements from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the cold and windy day because they felt like they were making a difference in the lives of people less fortunate than themselves, Cooper said.
"Even though the football season wasn’t a winning season on the field, the boys left ShopRite as a winning team, knowing their efforts were going to a good cause, and that was a great feeling," Cooper said. "The boys’ parents are proud of them as athletes, but even prouder of them as the fine young men they are."
The football team has never run a food drive before, she said. The parents of the freshman team will try to ensure that the tradition of giving lives on with future teams. The parents association will suggest to the parents of next year’s freshman team that they run a similar food drive near the holidays.