Remixed pop songs echoed through State Farm Arena on a recent Saturday as a DJ and dancers hyped up the crowd — the kind of atmosphere you’d expect at a Friday night Hawks game.
But on the floor of the arena in downtown Atlanta, thousands of metro Atlantans showed up for a different reason: to pack a total of 1 million meals to give to people in need.
Working in 90-minute shifts, volunteers were spread out across dozens of tables to work assembly line-style and pack boxes with rice, lentils and dried vegetables that make up a jambalaya mix. Those meals will then be shipped out to metro Atlanta families facing food insecurity.
“I felt like we were watching a basketball game, like we’re still in the playoffs,” former Hawks player and Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “People look happy. I don’t know what they had for breakfast, but the energy is very high.”
Organizers from the Hawks and State Farm estimated about 5,000 volunteers showed up. Donning red T-shirts and protective hair nets, many came with family members or in groups from their churches, workplaces and gyms. Elected officials, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, also pitched in.
“When you’re in a position that you can give, then that’s really important to do so. One day it might be me on the other end of this,” said Casey Baker, a volunteer who came with over 20 members of her gym in Kennesaw. “It’s a lot of people in there ... Atlanta’s a city that does that. If you look around, our community’s not like anywhere else.”
Amid the lively atmosphere, the event centered around the sober reality of food insecurity. About one in nine people in metro Atlanta experienced food insecurity pre-COVID — a figure that likely increased during the pandemic, according to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
The event, which was started in 2019, is the Hawks’ largest single-day service initiative. With a goal of 1 million meals, Dickens said it’s the largest event of its kind in the nation. The food will be distributed through metro Atlanta by U.S. Hunger, a hunger relief organization.
“This is one of my favorite days of the year here,” said Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, who brought his granddaughter to the event Saturday to show her to importance of volunteering and giving back. “It’s a party, and we’re glad to be hosting it.”
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