Hawks, State Farm volunteers deliver meals at newly-opened Atlanta food pantry
The Hawks and State Farm stock a new food pantry during the ‘Stock the Pantry Party’ event on Tuesday at Meals On Wheels Atlanta in westside Atlanta. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
ATLANTA - Volunteers with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm stocked a new food pantry inside the recently-renovated Meals On Wheels Atlanta facility, an early tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in advance of what would have been the Atlanta civil rights icon's 93rd birthday.
Volunteers stocked, sorted and labeled food stored in the pantry. They made breakfast bags and wrote cards at the westside facility.
Meals on Wheels provides meals, shelter and a sense of community to seniors. The new 1,000-square-foot Good Neighbor Pantry is inside the Meals on Wheels facility that was expanded to 18,000 square feet.
"Our partnership with State Farm has continued to help us fight food insecurity in Atlanta," said Hawks’ Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility Andrea Carter. "Not only today, but going forward, our employees will have an opportunity to volunteer at Meals On Wheels Atlanta, and we are excited about this continued relationship with a nonprofit organization who strives to help so many in our community."
The partnership between the Hawks and State Farm will help increase meal production in metro Atlanta by increasing shelving and storage in the Meals on Wheels food pantry.
"As State Farm, in partnership with the Atlanta Hawks continue our many efforts to fight food insecurity we look forward to working with Meals On Wheels Atlanta to serve the nourishment needs of our neighbors in and around Atlanta," said Victor Terry, State Farm Vice President Public Affairs & Chief Diversity Officer. "We welcome this unique opportunity to make a difference in the communities we serve."
Volunteers came to the facility Tuesday afternoon for the "Stock the Pantry Party," part of a continued initiative by the Hawks to fight food insecurity since 2018. Hawks guard and Gwinnett County native Lou Williams helped volunteers at the food pantry.
Hawks and State Farm partnered with Goodr to host pop-up grocery stores that have provided more than 27,000 meals for families across metro Atlanta since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.