On Monday, January 21st, we posted an event to our Facebook page about a food drive at a US Men’s National Team watch party. It was a call for assistance to restock the Central Texas Food Bank after the government shutdown depleted supplies.

On Sunday, January 27th, the Central Texas soccer community answered the call in a big way.

In this instance, “a big way” means more than a half ton of food for our neighbors in need — 1,138 pounds of non-perishable supplies to be precise. That’s two crossovers and one car stuffed with about 945 meals for our region’s hunger relief organization.

One of three dropoffs at the Central Texas Food Bank on Monday.

Austin Anthem is an organization that believes in more than just supporting soccer — we believe in supporting the whole community. When the Central Texas Food Bank put out the emergency call for support, we saw this as an opportunity to make a difference for our neighbors who are the most in need.

— Traci Babetski, Austin Anthem Secretary

We are truly thankful for all the support of soccer you’ve given over the past year. But we’re even more grateful for your support of the Austin community at large — our neighbors in need.

To borrow a phrase, this isn’t even our final form. Today, we’re over 1,200 strong, and we’re still two years until our club plays its first match. In those two years, we’ll use that time to organize more events that give back to our community. And we’re looking forward to it.