Trading cereal for smiles: Trevor Booker greets fans at Key Food

Fans were all smiles greeting Trevor Booker at 991 Fulton Street in Brooklyn on Friday. The big guy and the kids were had something in common: a love of cereal. Yes, cereal.

Booker loves cereal (his favorite is Cinnamon Toast Crunch), and is unapologetic about it. A few years back he decided to combine his love for cereal with his desire to give back. And with the help of the Nets, he was finally able to put his plan to action on Friday.

Fans came to Key Food on Fulton Street, a short walk from Barclays Center with boxes of cereal. In exchange for the charitable donation, they got an autograph and a picture with the 6’8” Net forward who talked with every fan, die-hard or not, big or little, who attended Booker’s Breakfast Assist.

“It’s just my way of giving back,” he said at the drive. “I’m a big cereal guy, so I came up with the initiative to have a cereal drive ... It’s close to the holidays so I felt like it would be a good time to do it.”

The cereal, along with 90 bottles of milk provided by Key Food will go to a nearby shelter.

“I just like helping people out, that’s the biggest thing for me,” he said. “Cereal, man, I love cereal, it’s one of my favorite foods. I just try to be creative in the ways that I help out and this is one of the things I came up with a few years back.”

Booker’s love of cereal is pretty serious indeed.

“Just growing up I ate cereal at morning, noon, night … sometimes I ate cereal for dinner,” he said with a laugh. “I just loved cereal so much that I wanted to do something different and have a cereal drive.”

To this day, Booker even eats cereal for dessert on a regular basis. That love and his performance against Dallas may even have won him a new nickname.

Once Booker arrived, it was clear this event would be different. Key Food and the Nets went all out...

Booker set up shop behind a table near boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats, which despite the obvious temptation, he did not eat … we think.

From late Friday afternoon through the early evening, Booker interacted with many fans, showing a personal touch and sincere appreciation.

Fans showed their appreciation, too. No interaction is complete without capturing the moment, one after another after another.

It wasn’t just Brooklyn fans either. This father-and-son duo made their way down from Connecticut. When you do that, you’ve got to make the most of the opportunity.

It was a busy Friday for the Nets community spirit, what with Booker at Key Food and his teammates D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and DeMarre Carroll at Gowanus Homes. As Sean Marks said at the Gowanus event...

“This is what we’re all about. It’s a great event for our players. They enjoy being able to give back.”