November 23, 2015 – TheCharlotte Hornets and Food Lion Feeds announced today that the two organizations will provide Thanksgiving meals to 1,000 families in need at the Hornets’ fifth annual Cornucopia event on Tuesday, November 24. The entire Hornets team and coaching staff will partner with Food Lion leadership and associates, as well as Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, to distribute the food at Time Warner Cable Arena starting at 11 a.m.
The Official Hunger Relief Partner of the Charlotte Hornets, Food Lion Feeds is donating all the ingredients for a warm Thanksgiving meal: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a variety of canned vegetables, macaroni and cheese and cranberry sauce. Hornets partner Coca-Cola is providing a two-liter bottle of Sprite for every meal. Each meal contains enough food to feed a family of four, resulting in approximately 4,000 people being served. In addition, Food Lion Feeds partnered with SC Johnson to contribute Ziploc storage bags, Glade candles and Windex to accompany each meal.
“Thanksgiving provides a time to reflect on the things we are grateful for but it is also a day to spend meaningful time with family and loved ones,” said Hornets President & COO Fred Whitfield. “Our organization, along with our fantastic partners Food Lion and Coca-Cola, wants to make sure we are doing our part to help those in our community this holiday season and we are privileged to have the opportunity to do so.”
The Hornets and Food Lion Feeds will also partner to donate 500 turkeys to WFNZ’s annual Street Turkeys initiative on Wednesday, November 25, which benefits local feeding agencies. Since announcing their partnership in September 2014, the two organizations have provided nearly 950,000 meals to Charlotte families.
"At Food Lion, Thanksgiving is a special time when we get to help millions of families enjoy a holiday meal together," said Food Lion President Meg Ham. "We know, unfortunately, some families in our home market of Charlotte have to make tough choices during the holiday season. We believe no one should have to choose between Thanksgiving dinner and paying rent, or any other necessity. That's why we are so passionate about partnering with the Charlotte Hornets to help feed those in need this holiday and ensure they have a warm Thanksgiving meal to share with their family."