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Seahawks Players Spend Day In Community At Food Banks & Drives

Jaxon Smith-Njigba spent time at a food drive, while Devon Witherspoon and Jalen Milroe helped packed grocery bags and lunches on Tuesday.

Nov 06, 2025 at 01:13 PM

Emily Neighbors

Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, cornerback Devon Witherspoon and quarterback Jalen Milroe all spent time in the community helping at a food drive and foodbank on their off day, in light of the recent pause to the SNAP benefits across the nation.

"Our phone hasn't stopped ringing," Angel Swanson, executive director of Feeding Feasible Feast said.

It is a consistent theme that food aid organizations are experiencing across the state, and Swanson and her team are working tirelessly to keep food access points restocked in King and Pierce Counties. Smith-Njigba hosted a food drive at the Safeway in Renton to help meet this need.

"The food we receive today will be sorted, according to community needs, and will either go into food hubs or to some of our indoor pantries," Swanson said. "It's 24/7 right now with people wondering where a food hub is, or an indoor pantry, or other places where they can access food."

Feeding Feasible Feasts is one of several organizations that will also be receiving grocery card donations from Safeway and will provide them to families in partnership with the Bethel School District. This week, more than $2 million in Safeway grocery cards will be distributed to 158 organizations at the frontlines keeping families fed across Washington State.

"We are approaching our response to the current circumstances through the lens of the people who need help accessing food," Sara Osborne, senior director of public & government affairs for Albertsons Companies said. "Most people who typically rely on SNAP are employed and caretakers, so they need to access food in a way that does not cause a major disruption of their life's responsibilities."

Osborne added, "Food banks and pantries are now trying to fill a huge void, but their infrastructure was not intended for this volume of people, and they cannot do this work alone. Programs that offer grocery cards and food vouchers are as comparable as we can get to the SNAP program, and we are grateful for our partners' efforts in getting the grocery cards out in the community."

In addition to food and monetary donations, food banks need volunteers to help sort and organize the increased supply of goods being distributed.

Witherspoon and Milroe visited the Asian Counseling and Referral Service Food Bank in the International District to package food being distributed to the community later in the week. In under two hours, the team prepped more than 600 grocery bags and 500 sack lunches for the ACRS Food Bank Wednesday distribution.

"We're deeply grateful to the Seahawks for showing up for our community when it's needed most," Kendee Yamaguchi, CEO, Asian Counseling and Referral Service said. "With recent cuts to SNAP benefits, we've seen more families turning to our food bank. Over 100 additional visits this weekend alone and we've doubled our food orders to keep pace. As volunteer support naturally slows during the colder months, the Seahawks' support helps bridge that gap and reminds us of the power of community when people come together to care for one another."

Through the uncertainty, Swanson holds on to the positive actions of communities mobilizing to help where they can.

"There are hundreds of stories that repeat the same theme of need," Yamaguchi said. "But the stories I'm collecting right now are the good stories. Before I came here today, a 75-year-old woman from Milton dropped off 50 boxes she had decorated, and inside every box was a cake mix, a can of frosting, candles and a small gift, because she was afraid that [families with] children who were receiving [SNAP benefits] may not be able to make a birthday cake."

Over the month of November, the Seahawks will make several donations to food aid organizations to help ensure continued access to food resources for our community. If you would like to support either of the organizations above or help supply more grocery cards, donate to Home Team Harvest at your local Safeway check stand or support these organizations directly here:

Also during the Seahawks game vs. the Minnesota Vikings on November 30, you can bring a non-perishable food donation in support of Home Team Harvest. Donation bins will be located outside each gate.

If you are in need of food assistance, here are other resources:

How to Get Food — Feeding Feasible Feasts
Seattle Food Committee
Emergency Food Network
Call 211 or visit 211.org (multi-language support available)
SNAP Market Match