The Atlanta Apartment Association’s (AAA) 30th Annual Food-A-Thon kicked off today and will continue through October, looking to raise enough food and money to supply millions of meals to the hungry in North Georgia.
The statistics on those in need in Georgia are sobering. According to Feeding America’s Hunger in America 2014 report, an estimated 755,400 people in metro Atlanta and North Georgia turn to food pantries and meal service programs to feed themselves and their families each year. This includes more than 164,000 children and more than 64,000 seniors.
“Atlanta Apartment Association member companies are in every county, city and neighborhood in the metro area, and giving back to those communities has always been a part of who we are,” said Christie Eash, Senior Vice President of AMLI Residential Properties and Chair of AAA. “This being our 30th Food-A-Thon is a great milestone and motivation to make it our best yet.”
In 2016 AAA member companies raised enough food items and money to provide more than 8 million meals to hungry families in metro Atlanta and north Georgia through its partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
The event is believed to be the largest food-and-fund drive in the United States. During the Food-A-Thon, AAA member firms collect food items and money for donation to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The theme of this year’s Food-A-Thon is, “Team Up Against Hunger.”
This year’s Food-A-Thon win end in October as it does each year with a colorful parade in which AAA members deliver their food and money donations to the Food Bank’s headquarters in Atlanta.
Founded in 1979, the Atlanta Community Food Bank procures more than 60 million pounds of food and groceries each year and distributes them to more than 600 nonprofit partner agencies serving families and individuals in 29 metro Atlanta and North Georgia counties. For every $1 donated, the Food Bank can provide four meals to families in need.
For the Atlanta Community Food Bank service area, the report shows that 80,600 people are served each week by programs supported through the Food Bank, and that those clients turn to partner programs and pantries for help more than 6.1 million times during the course of the year. This means clients are visiting Atlanta Community Food Bank network programs an average of eight times a year.
About the Atlanta Community Food Bank
The Atlanta Community Food Bank is one of the largest hunger relief organizations in the Southeast. We support a network of 600 partner nonprofits - community and faith-based organizations - across 29 counties in greater Atlanta and north Georgia. Together, we connect over 750,000 people each year with more than 60 million pounds of food – or more than 50 million meals. But our work isn’t just about food – it’s about community change. We engage, educate and empower the community to fight hunger. The transformational change we catalyze in the community leads to transformational change in the lives of our clients.
ACFB is a member of Feeding America, the national network of more than 200 food banks. For more information on the Food Bank, visitwww.acfb.org, and for more information on Feeding America visit www.feedingamerica.org.
About the Atlanta Apartment Association
The Atlanta Apartment Association is the multifamily housing trade association for the Atlanta Metro area. Founded in 1975, AAA is one of the largest local apartment associations in the country and an affiliate of the Georgia Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association. Currently, AAA represents over 1,500 member companies consisting of 370 companies managing 380,000+ apartment homes, and nearly 1,200 businesses that provide products and services to the industry.
