“The Miracle on 138th Street”, to be exact.

The NBA Players’ Association teamed up with Sen. Clinton, the non-profit foundation “Feed the Children”, and the Rev. Calvin Butts’ Harlem’s Abyssinian Development Corporation to feed over 10.000 people, the largest single-day food distribution in New York City history, according to Feed The Children Founder and President Larry Jones. The enormous effort was launched both to alleviate hunger for needy families during the holidays and in order to enhance awareness of the horrible problem of hunger that’s still way too prevalent in our country today.

“If you were going to buy this, it would cost $2.3 million what we are doing today,” said Jones. “But it must be done: well over a million New York City residents, including almost a half a million children, live in hunger today. What people don’t realize is the hidden figure: 61 per cent of grandparents are responsible for their grandkids, and that’s not including the 10 million single mothers in this country representing 12-14 million children who are having a difficult time, many of them making minimum wage with no benefits.”

“The American people, unfortunately, are not educated about this. But we ARE going to have to address the hunger problem in America.”

“This is our sixth food distribution this season,” said NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter. “We had one in Memphis with Hakim Warrick, one in New Orleans with Chris Paul, then we had Charlotte with Raymond Felton, Indianapolis with Jermaine O’Neal, and Detroit with Richard Hamilton. But this one here, this is unbelievable. It’s the biggest we’ve done by far.”

“It’s very important for players to get out here and rub shoulders with real people having real problems,” added Hunter. “They learn that there’s nothing more gratifying than giving back.”

Indeed, along with the contingent from the Knicks and the Lakers, the Nets Hassan Adams, and ex-NBA superstars John Starks, Allan Houston, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were also on hand to help, as was City Council President Christine Quinn and Majority Leadr Inez Dickens.

“The NBA and I have had a tremendous relationship for the past four years,” smiled Jones. “If I say ‘there are hungry children’, that’s one thing. But when Stephon Marbury or Quentin Richardson says it, when they are giving their time… It somehow makes it REAL for people when ballplayers of this caliber -- their heroes -- get involved in feeding the hungry. So what they are doing is extremely important -- and we are very appreciative of their efforts.”

As were the families -- the police originally blocked off three Harlem blocks around the Abyssinian Baptist Church, but the line threaded through EIGHT. “It’s really fantastic for ballplayers to help us like this,” Ruth-Anne Walton, a mother of four, glowed. “It means a lot to us when celebrities come out and support the community. I got chicken, juices, water, canned goods, and all kinds of other goodies that my kids are going to really enjoy. And, even though I do work hard, I can tell you that this is REALLY going to make a difference.”

“I was a big Knicks fan before, but now I’m the biggest,” smiled Wharton. “I love all of them. One of my daughters, the 12 year-old, even played at a Knicks game during half time.”

“Twenty five per cent of the people in New York are not getting enough food,” Sen. Clinton said. “In the richest City of the richest country in the world, that’s unacceptable. An event such as this reminds us that hungry people are not ‘someone else’, they are US. And I am so grateful that wonderful organizations such as the NBA players and Feed the Children are calling attention to the situation and doing something about it.”

“The key thing is, how are we going to respond?” added Sen. Clinton. “No matter how much we give today, we can’t forget there are going to be hungry people tomorrow. Indeed, we need all three levels -- corporations, private citizens and philantropies, and government -- to team up in order to solve this long-standing, terrible problem.”

“We do care, all of us,” said Francis as the players forged to the head of the endless line to shake hands with the recipients and give out the food themselves. “That’s why we’re here. It didn’t take much for my teammates to come; they were enthusiastic and more than willing to help. We are very blessed to be able to playing the NBA; now it’s time to share some of those blessings.”

Francis, going into his own pocket, actually sponsored one of the huge food trucks.

The players indeed looked good -- and in more ways than one. “They are s-o-o-o-o handsome,” Ms. Walton said. ”At the games, you know you them and they’re all sweaty and everything. But look at them now. They are something. And we really appreciate them.”