Goff named NFLPA’s Week 5 community MVP for distributing food to needy

We interrupt football with some good news.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been named the National Football League Players Association’s Week 5 Community MVP. Every week, the NFLPA recognizes an NFL player to “one player who has made a positive impact in his hometown or team city.” The honor comes with a $10,000 donation to the player’s foundation or charity of choice.

For Goff, he was recognized for helping deliver more than 40,000 pounds of fresh food to 500 families in need. On Tuesday, Goff teamed up with Forgotten Harvest, a mobile food rescue organization, to help feed needy Detroiters downtown.

“It’s an incredible honor to be named NFLPA Community MVP,” Goff said in a written statement. “I am extremely passionate about impacting the community where I play beyond the football field,” Goff said. “The city of Detroit has embraced me and in return, I want to do all I can to leave my mark.”

Goff is no stranger to charitable endeavors. During the pandemic, he donated $250,000 to a Los Angeles food pantry, 20,000 masks to Inglewood Unified School District and their families, as well as 1,000 backpacks for elementary school students. His current foundation, JG16, has teamed up with the Detroit Lions Foundation this year, with all proceeds from his clothing line going straight to the foundation and being matched by the Lions quarterback himself.

According to the press release from the NFLPA, Goff’s community efforts in Detroit are just getting started.

“In the coming months, Goff plans to broaden his commitment in the Motor City by providing winter coats to those experiencing homelessness; partnering with a local, youth-based nonprofit for the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign; conducting monthly Zoom readings to students at local children’s centers; and creating a national health and wellness campaign to build fitness courts across Michigan.”