Huddle for Hunger at Highmark unites students, fans, and players

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — “It’s a great way to engage in the community and fight hunger,” said Michael Nappo, student body president at Frontier High School.

He led a large, enthusiastic contingent of students pumped up for this unique after-school activity.

That giving spirit surrounded the lively crowd outside Highmark Stadium Tuesday evening, as Bills players, fans, Wegmans staffers and many others joined in celebrating the annual “Huddle for Hunger” campaign that supports Feedmore WNY and twenty different pantries and food agencies across Western New York. Even before the donations have been weighed, Bills’ organizers were predicting a record tally over last year in collecting food for those in need.

Bills’ offensive lineman Dion Dawkins was all in. He drove up in a truck stuffed with frosted cereal, canned goods, and more. His mother, Lisa Dawkins was there, too. “It’s just in him to be kind, to be giving,” she said. “And he will also give his time. It’s the most important thing he has.”

Students from Cattaraugus-Little Valley rode to the stadium in a school bus filled with boxes of food and plastered with photos of Bills players. They conveyed a sense of personal mission in their school-wide food drive, saying there is a high rate of poverty across the district.

Student council member Jaelyn Snyder pointed to student enthusiasm for community projects. “This is a serious thing,” she said, “but we can still be positive about it.”

It’s a sentiment shared by first-time participants from City Honors in Buffalo. Elissa Banas, director of the school’s International Baccalaureate program, said three-quarters of the student body at the school face some economic challenges.

Student Council officers Rayhona Nasimjonova and Catherine Mehaffy, were helping unload boxes of canned goods from a truck they had rented for the trip to the stadium. They completed the journey despite a flat tire, and there were smiles all around.

“We tied the food drive to Spirit Week,” said Mehaffy. “With the Bills involved, people were more excited.”

Kristin Isaksen says she was a “Bills fan in the womb.” Her love for the team has grown right along with her and after work on Tuesday, she was in line to drop off two bags of canned goods at Highmark Stadium and pick up a Bills’ branded tote bag.

Kristin knows what it’s like to need a little help along the way. She lives with multiple sclerosis. “Things might be hard for me,” she said, “but not as hard as it is for many people.”