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Alamo Bowl Teams Set Aside Differences To Help San Antonio Food Bank

Before they meet head to head on the football field, this weekend fans from both teams of the Valero Alamo Bowl joined together for a common purpose.

Families, fans, band members and cheerleaders from the University of Texas and the University of Oregon crowded the halls of the San Antonio Food Bank to make a difference.

Their fight songs were not directed at each other, but rather toward a common fight against hunger.

The president of the University of Oregon Michael Gottfredson said food banks are important community assets that tackle big problems.

"We just feel privileged to be here and at the University of Oregon, we try to teach lots of things, but one of them is giving back to the community," he said.

After the welcomes from leaders of each school, it was time to get to work. People lined tables inside the warehouse while volunteer coordinator Doug Ewers shouted out directions. The job on this day was to sort food into various containers, weeding out the expired items from the piles of donated foodstuffs.

In the spirit of helping the community, people from both sides - Longhorns and Ducks alike - worked side by side to get the job done.

San Juana Gomez, a UT fan and mom, believes it's good to give back.

"I mean, we're fortunate enough to be able to provide for ourselves, and there are people who run into slumps, and they need help," she said. "And I'm glad to just be able to help."

This project is a lesson in helping people that both schools say goes beyond the gridiron matchup, which gets underway with a 5:45 p.m. kickoff Monday.

Ryan Loyd was Texas Public Radio's city beat and political reporter. He left the organization in December, 2014.