Michigan State Guard Trey Fort Spearheads Food Giveaway in Lansing

LANSING – As daylight faded, cars lined both sides of an ice-packed street.

Michael Swartz was among the dozens who walked into the Faith Fellowship Baptist Church on Thursday night before heading out the door with a heavy bag.

bread, soup, smoked sausage and stuffing were among the items packed into a large tote.

“Right now, this means a lot,” said Swartz, a Lansing resident and married father of three. “This helps out a lot with the holidays and money’s tight right now for everybody, so this means a lot to us. This is amazing.”

Michigan State guard trey Fort spearheaded the food giveaway on Thursday through the Eastside Community Action Network. Fort handed out groceries while greeting those who came through the door and left with even more hope.

“me being able to go give these families a meal, I don’t know what that does for them, I just know it’s a blessing,” Fort said. “I’m just glad I’m able to do it.”

Fort, a Mississippi native, is at his sixth school in six years after transferring to join the Spartans in the offseason. Despite being new to the Lansing area, he continued a charity drive he began while playing for Samford last season.

“That’s all I want to do is bless other people, especially with the situation that I’m in,” Fort said. “I’m able to do it and I really want to grow it more in the years to come.”

fort’s passion to give back is rooted in family values. His father, Jerry, recalled being a child and the annual ritual of his mom requiring all the kids donate one of their own Christmas gifts. It wasn’t a simple exchange – remote-controlled cars were sometimes on the line.