Volunteers pack 1 million meals at State Farm Arena
In 90 minutes, volunteers packed 169,872 bags of food, weighing 130,943 pounds of food. They filled 3,539 boxes holding 288 meals per box (© Kat Goduco Photo Crew)
ATLANTA - The Atlanta Hawks' huge initiative addresses food insecurity in Atlanta.
According to Atlanta Community Food Bank, one in eight Georgians — one in six children — are food insecure.
On Saturday, more than 5,000 volunteers — including celebrities, influencers, and city and state leaders — packed 1 million meals at State Farm Arena.
In 90 minutes, volunteers packed 169,872 bags of food, weighing 130,943 pounds of food. They filled 3,539 boxes holding 288 meals per box
Domani Harris, son of Atlanta-native artist T.I., was proud to give back to his hometown.
"I'm from Atlanta, so really, giving back in general, I'm with it," Harris said. "There's something about come out to State Farm (Arena) ... and I know it's for a good cause, feeding people in Atlanta," he said.
Volunteers from U.S. Hunger, which the event supported, and executives from the Hawks and State Farm lent a hand. Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, State Farm Senior Vice President Dan Krause, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Congresswoman Nikema Williams and NBA Hall of Famer and Hawks Legend Dikembe Mutombo welcomed volunteers.
"We are very grateful for all of today’s volunteers and extremely proud of the results from today’s Million Meal Pack in partnership with State Farm," Koonin said in a statement. "We understand that it is a huge undertaking to tackle food insecurity throughout Atlanta, and we believe that this one-day community service initiative will make an incredible impact and also inspire our communities throughout metro Atlanta."
Several local organizations will distribute the meals: Atlanta Community Food Bank, CHRIS 180, City of Refuge, Fountain of Hope, Georgia State University Panther’s Pantry, Goodr, Meals On Wheels Atlanta, Mimi’s Pantry and Second Helpings Atlanta.