San Francisco 49ers’ Richard Sherman pays off over $7,000 of school’s lunch debt

San Francisco 49ers defensive back Richard Sherman earlier this month personally delivered a check for nearly $7,500 to pay off a Santa Clara-area school’s lunch debt. 

Cabrillo Middle School Principal Stan Garber said in a statement that Sherman handed him the check during his shift as a docent at the 49ers Museum. The check to wipe out students’ lunch debt came from his foundation. 

“Sherman pulled me from my shift as a docent in the 49ers Museum to give me a personal check for $7,491.27 to cover Cabrillo Middle School’s cafeteria debt,” Garber said, adding that Sherman’s gesture “created such good will for the 49ers” that they went on to defeat the Green Bay Packers in their next game. 

The Santa Clara Unified School District also extended a thank you to Sherman, saying in a Facebook post that the students would have “one less worry in their lives” because of this. 

Sherman launched “Blanket Coverage, The Richard Sherman Family Foundation” in 2013 in an attempt to support children by giving them adequate school supplies and clothes. 

“We have found that eliminating student lunch debt is one way to help assist students and their families in relieving some of the stress that comes with attending school on a daily basis,” the foundation said in a letter to the Santa Clara middle school’s nutritional services department.