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.

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