NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice is paying it forward for families with lunch debts.
The Hall of Famer and his wife, Latisha Pelayo, recently wiped out more than $667,000 in school lunch debt across 103 schools nationwide, helping thousands of children.
According to a post on X, Rice acknowledged, “Helping these kids is a victory bigger than any trophy I’ve ever won.”
The philanthropic move reportedly comes after Rice visited an elementary school in the Bay Area. As Afrotech reports, after Rice learned more about student lunch debt and its impact on learners, it moved him emotionally to make a change.
“No child should ever step into a classroom hungry,” Rice said. “Our responsibility is to plant strong seeds for the next generation to thrive.”
Rice’s kind gesture moved the hearts of several entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley who pledged to match his donations to clear the debts of more students in California.
Social media reactions
Fans who came across Rice’s gesture flooded social media praising the NFL wide receiver.
“This is awesome!!! No kid should go into debt just to eat lunch at school. Congrats,”
”I cried reading this,” said one person on social media. “We loved watching him make touchdowns, but this beats it all. There’s still good people in this world.”
Another added, “This is wonderful. Never understood why students are charged for lunch anyway. It’s a part of the required school day.”
Rice has also joined 49ers legend Steve Young to help the Bay Area community spread awareness about food insecurity. The duo aims to shed light on food insecurity due to reduced Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.