COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Being a football player requires a lot of calories. Seth McLaughlin has 4-6 eggs, some hash browns and 6-8 slices of bacon. And that’s just for breakfast.
“I’m a big pasta guy for dinner. Anything with pasta that involves heavy cream in the sauce, I’ll destroy,” said McLaughlin a graduate student on the Ohio State football team.
McLaughlin, a center on the offensive line, eats a lot of food to fuel the energy he needs to be a Buckeye. But he’s also thinking about those less fortunate.
“Food insecurity is a huge problem in this country. There’s so many people and there’s so much that go to waste and, you know, there’s a lot of food out there that can feed everybody,” McLaughlin said. “But it just doesn’t necessarily get to those in need because of how expensive everything gets.”
So he’s using his platform as a football player to raise awareness with a phrase that’s become a rallying cry: “Run the Damn Ball.”
“The acronyms, RTDB, which I kind of play on as ‘Run to the Donation Box’ during the holidays,” McLaughlin said. “I think that’s a basic human right, is just to have food, to eat and to enjoy. And along with that comes the fellowship of who you’re eating with. If there’s food on the dinner table, that’s going to be a happy room.”
Last year at Alabama, McLaughlin put “Run the Damn Ball” on a hat, raising $1,200. This season, partnering with the Mid Ohio Food Collective, he’s done nearly 10 times better.
“To now getting up to $10,000, that’s just blown me away. I never could have imagined that it would get to this magnitude,” McLaughlin.
McLaughlin and his family do the packaging themselves. It’s a labor of love to make sure no one goes hungry this holiday season.
“It’s just really sad to me that some people don’t get the amount of meals that I get because, you know, I’m here [at Ohio State]. I don’t have to think about that because we get everything that we ever need,” McLaughlin said. “Some people might take t hat for granted, but I know I don’t. And I’m really thankful to be where I’m at, but I just want to use my platform to help those in need.
Each hat costs $35, with all the proceeds after production costs going toward feeding Columbus families this Thanksgiving. McLaughlin saw a spike in sales after the Penn State victory and has sold out of inventory multiple times this season. He’s hoping to get all the remaining hats out to fans ahead of Saturday’s game against Indiana.
To learn more about McLaughlin’s “Run the Damn Ball” initiative and how to purchase a hat or donate to the Mid Ohio Food Collective, follow this link.