South Fulton Today

A "Stock the Pantry Party" service event, in which representatives from the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm volunteered at Meals on Wheels Atlanta’s westside facility, served as an early observance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

Executives and team members stocked, sorted and labeled food on Jan. 11 at Meals on Wheels Atlanta’s renovated and expanded 18,000-square-foot facility that includes the new 1,000-square-foot Good Neighbor Pantry. The volunteers also wrote cards and assembled breakfast bags for clients of the agency that helps seniors with home-delivered meals and pantry items.

“Our partnership with State Farm has continued to help us fight food insecurity in Atlanta,” Andrea Carter, Hawks’ vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility, told Fox 5 Atlanta.

Meals on Wheels Atlanta’s new pantry will help the nonprofit triple meal production.

“MOWA’s pantry program serves as a critical stop-gap for emergency situations,” Meals on Wheels Atlanta said. “Pantry supplies also provide for seniors who want to continue cooking and preparing foods in the home. Pantry deliveries contain a month-long supply of dry goods.”

Martin Luther King Day is observed every year on the third Monday of January to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights leader known for his work toward racial equality and ending racial segregation in the U.S. King, who was assassinated on April 4, 1968, would have been 93 this year.

“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,” according to the NBA's website.

Meals on Wheels Atlanta serves over 600,000 meals a year to seniors.