CRSCBL Teams Mobilize to Feed the Hungry

By Evan Joseph

Players and staff from across the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League collected 1,857 pounds of food for Montgomery County families in need over a two-hour period on Saturday morning.

This year’s annual Manna Food Drive included efforts from the Gaithersburg Giants, Silver-Spring Takoma Thunderbolts, and the Bethesda Big Train. Representatives from each team gathered non-perishables at Giant grocery stores. All of the food collected was donated to Manna Food Center, a nonprofit that works to eliminate hunger in Montgomery County. 

For Big Train founder and president Bruce Adams, the initiative represents the core identity of his franchise and the league.

"What we say is that baseball is our platform, but building a stronger community is our purpose," Adams said. "We want to show that we're an organization that is more than a baseball team, but it’s a community-building organization."

The timing of the mid-summer drive remains critical. While food banks see an influx of support during the winter holidays, summer collection rates decrease. According to Adams, Manna Food Center previously presented the league with an award for their consistent efforts because food bank shelves run bare during these warmer months. 

Saturday was doubly as important for the Big Train, as they combined the league's annual feed the hungry event for the Manna Food Center with the team's Roberto Clemente Community Service Day. Deploying over a hundred volunteers across six different sites in Montgomery County (including Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, North Bethesda, and Wheaton), the organization expanded its community reach.

In addition to the physical food drive, the Big Train raised $1,600 for Manna during their annual National Hot Dog Day fundraiser earlier in the week.

The community presence drew the participation of local leaders, including Maryland State Delegate Marc Korman, whose son previously attended the team's summer camps.

"A lot of people don't think of a place like Montgomery County as having a lot of hunger, but it does," he said, noting that one-third of local schoolchildren rely on free and reduced meals. "This is a great way of giving back to the community and performing public service. Just being out here, trying to work with our neighbors to get more food to our other neighbors."

While the drive serves a physical need, it also functions as a tool for personal growth for the collegiate players, the majority of whom are from other parts of the country. Adams noted that while many of them go on to sign professional contracts, the lesson of community engagement is meant to remain with them after their playing careers.

Big Train pitcher Jordan Capuano (Youngstown State) participated in the food drive for his third consecutive year and echoed that sentiment.

"It kind of makes you think that it's not really just a baseball league," he said. "It's here to develop you not only as a baseball player but as a human being, and helping out other people is a big part of that. You're here to play baseball, but you're also here to kind of grow yourself as a person."

Beyond personal development, the face-to-face interactions at grocery storefronts and donation sites continue to connect the student-athletes with the local fan base.

"It's nice to see people recognize our name, the Big Train, and who we are," Capuano added. "To kind of put a different image out there, that we're not just a baseball team, we're here to help out the community."

By anchoring the day in the spirit of Roberto Clemente, who represents Major League Baseball’s symbol of public service, Adams hopes the initiative inspires other youth and collegiate athletes to embrace similar traditions.

“Clemente is the guy that Major League Baseball's Community Service Award is named after,” said Adams. “And when I think of him, I think of a lot more than a great ballplayer, but a real community service person."

The collective effort provides immediate support to the local food supply, though food insecurity requires ongoing attention throughout the year.