Buffalo Bills players and their families, as well as Bills staff and the Food Bank of WNY, helped distribute meals to families at the Food Bank today for the team's annual Thanksgiving Blitz.

"What makes this special time of year even more meaningful is watching the players and the Buffalo Bills family hand deliver a Thanksgiving feast to our local families in need.  There is no greater joy than seeing the smiles on the faces of these appreciative recipients," said Marylou Borowiak, President and CEO of the Food Bank of WNY.

This year's effort was the result of over $43,000 in donations from the Bills players and coaches, which was enough to provide turkeys and Thanksgiving meals for over 1,000 families in our community. Today, around 625 families received turkeys and meals at the Food Bank, with the remaining families to receive their meals throughout the holiday season.

"The Buffalo Bills are proud to partner with the Food Bank of WNY, especially for the annual Thanksgiving Blitz which is very special to both organizations," said Gretchen Geitter, Buffalo Bills Vice President of Community Relations. "Our staff, players, coaches, and their families are always happy to support this event which helps provide a happy and healthy Thanksgiving for many families in our community." 

Participating players included 15 WR Chris Hogan, 79 T Jordan Mills, 39, CB Mario Butler, 4 K Jordan Gay, 6 P Colton Schmidt, 76 G John Miller, 50 LB Tony Steward, 98 DE Alex Carrington, 46 CB Merrill Noel, 70 C Eric Wood, 2 K Dan Carpenter, 60 G Kraig Urbik, 97 DT Corbin Bryant, 3 QB EJ Manuel, 8 QB Josh Johnson, 61 C Gabe Ikard, and 14 WR Sammy Watkins. Families had the opportunity to meet the Bills players, who then delivered meals straight to their vehicles and visited with recipients to wish them a happy holiday season.

(The Food Bank of WNY is the primary hunger relief organization in WNY, obtaining and distributing food to 326 member agencies including food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, after school programs and senior citizen centers in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara counties.  Through these agencies, every month the Food Bank of WNY serves 116,691 individuals, including 41,348 families, nearly 44,000 children and infants, and 13,194 senior citizens.  The Food Bank of WNY is one of 200 members of Feeding America, the nation's food bank network. For more information, visit www.foodbankwny.org.)