ATLANTA – On Tuesday afternoon, the Hawks and State Farm teamed up for a special ‘Stock the Pantry Party’ service event at Meals On Wheels Atlanta (MOWA) on the westside of Atlanta. The event, which took place in advance of Martin Luther King Day, involved executives and team members from both the Hawks and State Farm volunteering their time to both honor and celebrate Dr. King’s legacy of service.
The volunteers helped stock, sort and label food as well as write cards and assemble breakfast bags at the newly renovated and expanded ‘Meals On Wheels Atlanta’, a non-profit organization that supports senior independence through meals, shelter, education and community. Dr. King believed that all people should have equal opportunity in life through making sure people everywhere can have three meals per day.
“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 new 1,000-square-foot Good Neighbor Pantry is located inside the recently renovated and expanded 18,000-square-foot ‘Meals On Wheels Atlanta’ and will help MOWA triple the meal production seniors across metro Atlanta. South Gwinnett native and current Hawks guard Lou Williams joined volunteers on-site to lend a hand.
“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.”
The ‘Good Neighbor Pantry’ is the first food pantry that the Hawks and State Farm provided support for, and the newly renovated and expanded space also features more shelving and storage for food to greater assist ‘Meals On Wheels Atlanta’ in its mission to service the local community.
“We’re thrilled to partner with State Farm and the Atlanta Hawks to open our first ever adopted pantry, and to move the needle forward against senior hunger in our community,” said Charlene Crusoe-Ingram, Chief Executive Officer, Meals On Wheels Atlanta.
The ‘Stock the Pantry Party’ was a part of the Hawks and State Farm’s continued efforts to fight food insecurity in Atlanta. Since 2018, the Hawks and State Farm have made fighting local food insecurity in Atlanta a major component of their partnership. In 2019, the Hawks and State Farm previously teamed up to pack one million meals for the Atlanta community. Since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Hawks and State Farm, with assistance from Goodr, hosted pop-up grocery stores to provide more than 27,000 meals for families across metro Atlanta.
The Hawks and State Farm continue to work together to build a stronger Atlanta community. To learn more about the Hawks’ work in the community, visit Hawks.com/community.