DJ Shawna was playing Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love.”

Bobby Portis Jr. was vibing to it as he picked up a tan Milwaukee Bucks tote from a pile of them stacked at the end of a plastic folding table.

Boxes of pasta were at the other end, with corn and other canned goods in between.

Portis went down the table, placing each item into the bag. Then, he dropped the tote into a giant cardboard box nearly full of them.

Rinse and repeat.

Portis was one of about 300 members of the Milwaukee Bucks family who volunteered at the Hunger Task Force’s West Milwaukee food bank for an “all-staff VolunDEER Day.”

Arvind Gopalratnam, Bucks vice president of corporate social responsibility, said the team has been trying to figure out how to address some of the insecurities that the community is facing, especially when it comes to food.

Teaming with Hunger Task Force, Gopalratnam said, was a way to “help our community be prepared for the season of giving and this holiday season” and “do some good together.”

The “VolunDEERs” — Bucks players, coaches, training staff, the business office and other employees — came in two shifts on Nov. 18, with media invited to attend the second, an hourlong one in the afternoon. Bango and DJ Shawna were there, too, making spirits bright.

Bucks volunteers sorted over 20,000 pounds of food and helped build around 2,000 stockboxes that will be given to local low-income seniors; emergency food boxes that will be delivered to area food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters; and around 2,000 special holiday meal kits going to families across the community through the task force’s network, said Jonathan Hansen, chief strategy officer at Hunger Task Force. The Bucks also made a donation to the organization.

Myles Turner was assigned to the vegetable station. He checked expiration dates on cans, separated canned veggies that had sodium from ones without, and made sure “everything is in order,” he told the Journal Sentinel.

“You’ve got to think very quickly, almost like I do on the court,” Turner said. “So, I just respect the grind that goes behind this.”

Other players who volunteered during the afternoon shift were AJ Green, Kyle Kuzma, Gary Trent Jr., Kevin Porter Jr., Cole Anthony, Jericho Sims, Gary Harris, Ryan Rollins, Amir Coffey and Andre Jackson Jr.

“Athletes, we have a platform. We’re someone that people look up to,” Turner said. “So, if they see us in the community, hopefully it inspires them to do the same exact thing.”

Bucks coach Doc Rivers used his platform at the end of his Nov. 1 pregame press conference to make a call for action for government leaders and members of the community to address the freezing of funding of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to the government shutdown.

The shutdown has since ended, and though delayed, FoodShare benefits — what Wisconsin calls its SNAP program — have been reinstated and fully funded through Sept. 30, 2026, according to the website of the state’s Department of Health Services.

Over the past year, Hunger Task Force has seen an increase in need of 35% at local food pantries, according to Hansen. During the government shutdown, that need nearly doubled, he said.

“Right now is a critical time for Hunger Task Force to have that strong support from our local community,” Hansen said. “The Milwaukee Bucks stepped up today to do just that. They volunteered, they made a contribution and they helped us make a huge impact in our work.”

Addressing the afternoon cohort, Rivers said: “Hunger’s a problem year-round … We’ve got to keep serving and keep helping. It does take a village. … I think Milwaukee and the Milwaukee area does it better than anyone else. Let’s keep doing it. Thank you, guys, for coming out.”

As the shift wrapped up, Rivers — in true coach fashion — walked through the volunteers, giving fist-bumps and “good jobs.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Bucks volunteer at Hunger Task Force ahead of holidays