Sports360AZ
Story by Brandon Bonaparte
Chris Paul is a 35 year-old Phoenix Suns point guard who is currently averaging 16.9 points and 8.1 assists per game. While his play and success on the floor is evident, the veteran believes some of that comes from his nutrition off the court. Paul uses a plant-based diet, something he started back in 2019.
On Wednesday, Paul announced his partnership with goPuff, a service that delivers orders to customers’ doors such as food, drinks and other everyday home needs. Paul is using this partnership with a goal of increasing the accessibility of plant-based foods to customers across the United States.
“While so many people strive to be healthier, finding affordable, plant-based food that tastes great can be challenging,” Paul said. “goPuff has a unique ability to introduce new, healthier brands to customers and then deliver those items quickly.”
When browsing, one can access the ‘Better For You’ tab, a category within goPuff that offers healthier options to customers, such as all natural, dairy free and non-GMO foods. Paul will assist the growth and evolution of this tab, in hopes of acquiring new, plant-based brands for goPuff.
“As our customer base continues to grow and evolve, we’ve seen an increase in demand for Better For You products over the past few years,” said Yakir Gola, co-founder and co-CEO of goPuff. “Chris brings passion and expertise in plant-based food to goPuff and we look forward to working with him to make goPuff every customer’s go-to solution for plant-based food.”
Visiting NBA teams in Phoenix will receive plant-based snacks from goPuff as a result of the partnership. While plant-based diets are healthy for everyone, it is especially common in one demographic. According to plantbasednews.org, black Americans are almost three times more likely to be vegan than white Americans.
Because of this, alongside goPuff, Paul looks to initiate plant-based foods in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s), making them available for students. Paul hopes these foods will especially be from Black-owned, plant-based brands.
Paul, a longtime activist and a recent promoter of plant-based foods, will combine two distinct passions of his with this partnership.
A universally respected point guard around the league, Paul was highly involved in many of the social justice issues this past summer in the NBA bubble, and he continues to give back and be a voice of change to try and affect his community in a positive way.
“I’m passionate about the benefits of a plant-based diet and look forward to working with goPuff to build out their plant-based offerings to include a selection of my favorite brands,” Paul said, “many of which are Black and Brown owned, onto their platform today.”
