Georgia school defeats hunger, wins state title

Undoubtedly, some kids will be upset this season over the presents they didn't get. There's a big box under the tree which contained shoes or clothes - instead of the new game system or smartphone they wanted. Attitudes may still be sour at Christmas dinner as they pick through the full plate of turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans and that unrecognizable casserole that Aunt Helen always makes. It will take the kids years to realize how important being able to have dinner with family really is. Dinner is a big deal. Many kids go to bed hungry each night. They don't care about games. You can't eat an XBOX. No kid should have to worry about where the next meal is coming from. Unfortunately, I was one of those kids at one point.

My mom and I lived in trailer park in Fayetteville, N.C. when I was in third grade. We were all very poor back then. I know people do a lot of political posturing on this topic, but let me be clear. Welfare is not enough to feed and care for a child. We received about $200 a month in cash and about $135 or so in food stamps. Mom paid the rent with the cash and sold some food stamps to pay the gas bill. You'll notice I said gas bill. We needed hot water to bathe and we had a gas stove. Electricity was optional. I completed more than one math assignment by candlelight in my day. It would get really hard toward the end of the month and mom had to get creative. Mom was older than most women with an eight-year-old, and many of the men who lived in the trailer park looked upon her as a mother. They hated seeing her struggle to take care of me.

These guys didn't have jobs and went hungry themselves sometimes. So, they made a deal with my mom. If they could get food, she would prepare meals for them when she cooked for us. Full bags of groceries started appearing and I had chicken and steak dinners with some of the roughest dudes in Cumberland County. I'd love to say that some generous person provided the food. Let's just say shoplifting incidents rose in Fayetteville that year. The story of Burke County (Ga.) High School reminded me of that time in my life. The team won the state title in football after overcoming a most formidable opponent - hunger. Coach Eric Parker noticed his team fading late in games. It wasn't because they needed to do more wind sprints. They needed more vegetables. Kids were literally pulling themselves out of games because they were hungry.

Coach Parker did something about it for his team and about 400 other hungry kids. Watch the CBS News video below for the full story (email subscribers click here). 

 Hungry kids can't perform well on the field or in school. Drop a gift off at a food pantry this holiday or at the very least invite a few more people and their kids to your Christmas dinner. Above all else, be thankful for what and especially who you have. Besides, having a scoop or two of Aunt Helen's casserole won't kill you. It hasn't all these years. Until next time...

Be a Good Sport!

-Sol