(NewsNation) — Jason Brown played 100 games as an offensive lineman in the NFL, and was at one point the highest-paid in the league, but he decided to give all that up at age 29 to focus on faith and family.
He’s now the founder of First Fruits Farms, a 1,000-acre farm in Louisburg, North Carolina, that helps communities fight food insecurity.
“I gave up the American dream of professional sports for much more simple dream, and that’s to give back and to make a difference,” Brown told “Morning in America” on Monday.
Brown was inspired to follow a different path from the gridiron several years after his brother, Lunsford Bernard Brown II was slain in service on Sept. 20, 2003.
“So I asked God, with all of the gifts, the talents, with all of the blessings that you’ve given me, what can I do more so than anything else, to make the biggest difference in the world that we live in, and ultimately, to share love with our neighbors? And God called me to be a farmer,” Brown said.
First Fruits Farms has donated more than a million pounds of food since Brown founded the organization after departing the NFL in 2012.
Those in need of food from First Fruit Farms can visit Wisdomforlife.org and local food bank websites in your cities or towns.
Donations and volunteering opportunities are also available on the website.