Hawks, State Farm, and 6,000 Volunteers Set Record Time Packing More than 1 Million Meals to Combat Food Insecurity

Hawks, State Farm and 6,000 Volunteers Set Record Time today Packing More than 1 Million Meals to Combat Food Insecurity

Hawks, State Farm and 6,000 Volunteers Set Record Time Packing More than 1 Million Meals to Combat Food Insecurity / Atlanta Hawks

Earlier today, the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm welcomed 6,000 volunteers to the award-winning State Farm Arena to pack more than one million meals, setting a record time as part of the 2024 Million Meal Pack initiative. This year’s event set a record time for the event, packing more than one million meals in only 450 minutes. Hawks and State Farm Arena Chief Executive Officer Steve Koonin, Hawks Legend and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, Hawks players Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., Onyeka Okongwu and David Roddy and more supported volunteers as they helped combat food insecurity in metro Atlanta at the team’s largest single-day community service initiative. In addition, Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman, Atlanta City Councilmember Bryon Amos, Buddy Red, Gail Bean, Domani Harris, Campbell “Pookie” and Jett Puckett, and Young Dro joined volunteers throughout the day.

Together, individuals, families, community groups, churches, schools, businesses and more rallied together to pack meals on the floor of State Farm Arena. With support from volunteers from U.S. Hunger, executives from both the Hawks and State Farm, they collectively achieved an impressive total of 1,050,336 meals packed.

“We thank all of today’s volunteers for coming out to State Farm Arena to help us pack more than one million meals,” said Steve Koonin, Chief Executive Officer of the Hawks and State Farm Arena. “Through our work with State Farm, we’re proud to address food insecurity throughout the city of Atlanta and see the incredible impact of this community service initiative.”

The 450 minutes of packing yielded:

• 1,545 bags of food
• 134,939 pounds of food
• 3,647 boxes of food
• 288 meals per box
• 48 bags per box

“In the fight against food insecurity in Atlanta, teamwork is our most powerful ingredient – collaborating to nourish not just bodies but hope and resilience throughout the community,” said Tanya James, Corporate Responsibility Manager at State Farm. “This notable occasion marks our fourth Million Meal Pack in the battle against food insecurity and we are proud to partner with the Atlanta Hawks in this ongoing initiative.”

More than one million meals packed during the event will be distributed throughout the Atlanta metro area with the operational support of U.S. Hunger, a hunger relief organization with innovative programs designed to help feed people struggling with food insecurity. The beneficiaries include Atlanta Community Food Bank, Hosea Helps, Midwest Food Bank, Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta and Sweetwater Mission.

According to the Atlanta Community Food Bank, one in eight Georgians are living with food insecurity, including one in five children.

"We are incredibly proud to once again partner with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm for this annual Million Meal Pack event,” said Rick Whitted, Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Hunger. “Their unwavering commitment to fighting hunger, especially for families in Atlanta, continues to inspire us. It’s through partnerships like this, with organizations that are deeply invested in their communities, that we can create meaningful, lasting change. Together, we’re making a real impact, ensuring that families across Atlanta have access to the nutritious meals they need."

State Farm Arena continues to operate as the world's first TRUE Zero Waste Platinum certified sports and entertainment venue and this event is marked as the third zero waste Million Meal Pack with diversion of more than 90% percent of all materials from landfills that includes everything generated from load-in to load-out. Every box and piece of cardboard used in packaging these meals will be upcycled, reducing waste and creating a positive environmental impact in tandem with the positive social impact Million Meal Pack creates.

The Hawks and State Farm have previously hosted three Million Meal Pack events, in 2023, 2022, and 2019. In those three years, the two organizations have rallied more than 15,000 volunteers packing more than 3.1 million meals to benefit the community. Most recently, the two organizations teamed up to open the tenth Good Neighbor Club at the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA in Southwest Atlanta. The organizations have also continued to fight food insecurity for all ages year-round. In June, the organizations taught youth how to garden sustainably in a full farm-to-table process at the N.H. Scott Recreation Center Good Neighbor Club.