The potatoes poured out of the truck and were left in a giant pile on the University of North Carolina campus. They were courtesy of Jason Brown, a former NFL center who left the football field in 2012 to try his hand at farming fields — and has become a bit of a star in the process.
Wow — that’s a lot of yams ? pic.twitter.com/K9vDvUA94y
— UNC-Chapel Hill (@UNC) February 10, 2018
The former athlete operates a 1,000-acre farm near Louisburg and has made a mission out of trying to help feed the hungry. Brown donated the 40,000 pounds of sweet potatoes to his alma mater on Saturday as part of UNC’s “Yam Jam,” which works to donate the crops to area food banks.
At today’s Yam Jam, Tar Heels will be bagging and donating yams to benefit local food banks and organizations such as @TABLENC and the Jackson Center #UNC pic.twitter.com/HZccStIjvm
— UNC-Chapel Hill (@UNC) February 10, 2018
The school also posted a video of Brown, in which he talks about how God has called him to be a farmer and how solving the world’s problems are going to take more than throwing money at them, it’s going to take real action.
“If we’re truly going to inspire change, and if we’re truly going to see change in our food system and in ending hunger, we’re going to have to give our best,” he said in the video.
Former @TarHeelFootball player and professional football star Jason Brown has traded one field for another — and this one’s a little sweeter ? #UNCpic.twitter.com/Biz7IBbjJl
— UNC-Chapel Hill (@UNC) February 10, 2018
