Portis serves up sandwiches and strikes to help feed Wisconsin

Bobby Portis is known for his infectious energy and style of play, but his greatest impact in Milwaukee happens off the court. Lily Zhao goes Beyond the Game with the Bucks forward.

MILWAUKEE - Bobby Portis is known as the Mayor of Milwaukee for a reason.

"It means a lot to me, especially in this community," said Bobby Portis, Bucks forward. "They’ve embraced me to the upmost. They love and support the things I do on and off the court."

Outside of Fiserv Forum, the Bucks forward has found his other passion project.

"This is Milwaukee," said Portis. "We don’t get a lot of attention here, so I think it’s just vital that guys who have a platform like myself, to show up and give these kids some attention and love."

Portis teamed up with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to tip-off their PJ&J Challenge.

The goal was to provide these kids with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to help fuel them to achieve their potential in the classroom and beyond. With 1-in-4 kids in the city of Milwaukee unsure of where their next meal is coming from, donating jars of peanut butter helps a lot.

They then hosted a group of kids for an evening of bowling at JB's on 41.

"For every dollar, you know it feeds seven kids, so I think it kind of speaks for itself," Portis said. "Every dollar counts, and every dollar can go a long way, so we just want to do the best we can to put food on kids' plates and just give back to those kids. Try to put smiles on these kids’ faces."

And those smiles won't be running out anytime soon.

"Helping everybody in this world, it just makes my heart feel better," said Julian Neumann, young Bucks fan.

One peanut butter and jelly sandwich and one pin at a time, Portis is paying it forward.

"I haven’t bowled in a minute," said Portis. "I’m excited to do a little something if I can."

You can help too, by helping donate at: feedingamericawi.org/bobby.

"Anyone can help out the PB&J challenge," said Scott Marshall, Vice President of Development and Communications at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. "You can help support Bobby by having a food drive or making a donation online for us to be able to buy jars of peanut butter and jelly."

It's another worthy cause for Portis, whose love for the city spares no bounds.