Brandon Marshall slipped on the snug red apron and stepped inside the small kitchen housed in the back of The Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center in downtown Denver. Awaiting him were tubs of chopped celery and onions, bags of stuffing mix and seasoning, and oversized cans of green beans and broth, all stacked high on a metal chef’s table.
For a few hours Tuesday afternoon Marshall traded in his job as an NFL linebacker for a new role and new arena: a volunteer chef, preparing Thanksgiving meals for those in need.
“I love giving back to the community,” he said. “I love feeding the homeless, I love kids. I love all the events. Honestly, this is something that’s a no-brainer for me to do.”
With the help of some of his Broncos teammates — running back Juwan Thompson, nose tackle Sylvester Williams, fellow linebacker Todd Davis and former offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus — Marshall prepared pans of stuffing, seasoned green beans and mashed potatoes that, on Thursday, will help feed nearly 2,000 people in a community meal at the Colorado Convention Center, and then at the individual Salvation Army facilities around the Denver area.
“And it’s worth every penny,” said chef James Prunty, who has worked with the Salvation Army for 38 years. “There are a lot of unfortunate people out there now.”
Two of those are Guadalupe Garcia, 37, and Rocky Porco, 31, a pair of diehard Broncos fans who reside at the Harbor Light facility and have turned to the Salvation Army for help in leaving their pasts on the streets.
“The Salvation Army afforded me the opportunity to transition — with baby steps, which is what i needed,” said Garcia. “I met Rocky a month ago and we share a lot of the same experiences. To know that we can go through this together and both change our lives — and we’re from two different affiliations. Had it not been for this program, he and I probably never would have even talked before.”
For Marshall, the Thanksgiving prep is now a two-year tradition. But the community service has long been a staple of his off-field efforts. It has for some of his other teammates, too.
Earlier Tuesday, some of his other teammates endured the cold and rain outside the Broncos’ stadium to assist the Denver Rescue Mission in distributing 2,500 Thanksgiving turkeys and food boxes to families in need.
