Instead of hosting a large holiday lunch celebration for employees this year, aircraft and aerospace company Lockheed Martin plans to provide thousands of meals to charitable organizations to help people in need.

Lockheed, which has a major aeronautics plant in Marietta, is supplying 10,000 meals to the Center For Children and Young Adults, Hosea Helps, MUST Ministries and the Veterans Empowerment Organization, the company said in a statement.

To pay for the meals, it is redirecting funds that would otherwise go toward year-end gatherings for the company.

“Because of the pandemic, we knew that bringing employees together in large gatherings is not a wise choice, so we made the decision to do the right thing – support the communities where we live and work,” spokesman Rob Fuller said.

The meals will be prepared by Compass, the company that provides food service at the Marietta facilities.

Lockheed employees will deliver the meals to the organizations through Dec. 11.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Workers at the Atlanta Community Food Bank distribution center are seen uploading food into multiple aisles on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. The organization is utilizing $5 million from its reserves to purchase 6 million pounds of food for distribution over the next four weeks. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. It was the first day the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com