Beyond Touchdowns: Lions’ Jared Goff's Mission to Feed Communities with Lineage Foundation for Good

The 2023 NFL season has been remarkable, particularly if you’re a Detroit Lions fan. Not only were they stellar on the field, finishing the regular season with a 12-5 record, winning their first home playoff game in 32 years and advancing to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1992, but they’ve been actively doing good off the field as well. In a spectacular fusion of sports and philanthropy, Lions' quarterback Jared Goff partnered with the Lineage Foundation for Good, Lineage’s independent philanthropic arm, to create the unique “Touchdowns for Good” initiative. This program transformed Goff’s touchdowns at away games into donations benefitting local food banks during the regular season and resulted in the equivalent to 150,000 meals donated.

Tackling Food Insecurity with “Touchdowns for Good”

The "Touchdowns for Good" initiative, a cornerstone of the partnership between Jared Goff and the Lineage Foundation for Good, brought a new dimension to the Lions' away games this season. Throughout the 2023 NFL regular season, for every touchdown Goff threw in an away game, the Foundation committed to donating the equivalent of 1,000 meals to local food banks in the cities where the games were held. This innovative approach ensured that the team’s success not only advanced the Lions’ season, but also made a significant impact in many communities to fight food insecurity across the nation.

“Every touchdown I threw at our away games this season felt different, knowing they were directly helping to put food on the table for families who needed it. Partnering with the Lineage Foundation for Good has been an amazing journey and allowed us to turn those on-field achievements into meaningful impact for communities across the US,” says Goff.

As the Lions clinched a spot in the playoffs, the "Touchdowns for Good" initiative saw an impressive expansion. In the Lions’ historic post-season, Goff and the Foundation doubled down for Detroit’s home games, donating 40,000 meals after the Lions defeated the LA Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Detroit's Forgotten Harvest, an organization dedicated to fighting hunger and food insecurity in Detroit, and another 20,000 meals to San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. After all was said and done, this partnership resulted in donations equivalent to 150,000 meals around the country.

Looking forward to 2024, the Foundation is set to broaden its reach with the "Everybody Eats" program, partnering not just with Jared Goff, but the entire Detroit Lions team and building upon the success of "Touchdowns for Good" with a renewed focus on fighting food security for those in need.

From Sports to Service: Lineage Foundation's Platform for Good

"Jared's commitment as both an honorary board member of the Foundation and an active philanthropist has been pivotal to our mission. His commitment to making a difference in our communities is so rewarding,” says Hannah Hoskins, Executive Director of Lineage Foundation for Good. “With Jared, and now the entire Detroit Lions team on board, there’s no place for hunger to hide. We’re thrilled that this partnership is making a tangible difference in the fight against food insecurity."

The Lineage Foundation for Good has proven itself as a powerful platform for tackling food insecurity and global hunger, as demonstrated by the "Touchdowns for Good" initiative with Jared Goff and the “Everybody Eats” program with the Detroit Lions. This collaboration highlights the Foundation's role as a platform, to raise awareness and transform the influence of sports figures and teams into meaningful action against food insecurity.

As the Foundation looks ahead, it continues to explore partnership opportunities like "Touchdowns for Good" and "Everybody Eats." These initiatives are not just charitable efforts; they are blueprints for combining sports, philanthropy and community spirit to address these global issues. Through the Lineage Foundation for Good, changemakers find an ally in their mission to fight food insecurity and reduce food waste around the world.