Americold, Feed the Children, Mayor’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs – Welcoming Atlanta Complete Partnership with Fourth Community Resource Event

Americold, Feed the Children and the Mayor’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs – Welcoming Atlanta wrapped up a series of community resource events on Wednesday, June 14.  Through the four-month initiative, the organizations provided nearly 80,000 pounds of food and essentials valued at more than $400,000 to families across Atlanta as well as supported Atlanta Public Schools. The goal of these efforts was to alleviate the stress of food insecurity families face daily.  

The program launched on March 1 to help bring awareness to the need for additional resources in the community. An increasing number of children – including 1 in 7 – in Georgia do not have consistent access to enough food. This can lead to growth and developmental issues over time.  

Volunteers from Americold gathered at each event helping to distribute items to families including 25-pound boxes of shelf-stable food, 15-pound boxes of essentials such as soaps and self-care items and action boxes that contained fun and healthy activities for children. 

Community partners including CORE, were on site at events to provide COVID and flu vaccines and public benefit application assistance. Additionally, Second Helpings provided  meal kits from HelloFresh, and representatives from the  Atlanta Public Schools Multilingual Services & Programs, Fulton County Library, Philadelphia College of Medicine Georgia, Latino Community Fund, Edens, Operation Hope, and The Latin American Association, PAD Initiative, Center for Global Health Innovation, Helping Mamas, Tahirih Justice Center, Department of Parks & Recreation, Cherokee Family Violence Center, and Children’s Museum Atlanta participated at various events to share information with families.  

The program also directly supported Atlanta Public Schools, providing more than 20 schools throughout the district, with items to stock resource rooms so students have access to food and essentials.  

The fourth event was held at Sara J. González Memorial Park and provide children and their families with much-needed food and essentials along with access to additional community resources. Atlanta’s Sara J. González Memorial Park, is the first park named for a Latinx individual in the state of Georgia, and honors inclusiveness and cultural diversity while providing all-abilities accessible child and family oriented greenspace to the growing Atlanta Westside community it serves.  

In observance of National Immigrant Heritage Month this June we are proud to partner together to support the diverse immigrant communities in Atlanta sharing values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Two of the community events were held at the park, established to uphold Atlanta’s diverse communities while commemorating the legacy of Ms. González — a devoted mother and Cuban immigrant whose faith in the American Dream propelled her from small business owner to revered Latino, immigrant and minority-rights leader who served all in her community with joy and compassion.  

Additional events were held at a residential community located at 3200 Lenox Rd. NE in Atlanta to support families nearby.  

Americold has a passion for defeating hunger, they recently partnered with Feed the Children to distribute 8,000 ready-to-eat meal kits to students throughout the month of December 2022 to help support students with access to food during the holiday when families struggle to provide enough food without free, or reduced cost meals available while schools are closed winter break. These meals were distributed at Community Resource events across Atlanta neighborhoods including Adamsville, Morningside, Lindbergh, Orchard Knob, Lenox, Virginia Highlands, Perkerson, Bolton and Underwood Hills. 

“Our partnership with Feed the Children is incredibly meaningful because it is one way that we show our commitment to fighting hunger and to giving back in the communities where we live and work. We’re especially proud of these events in Atlanta because our company headquarters are here.  We also own and operate a dozen cold storage facilities in the area to deliver on our mission to help our customers feed the world,” said George Chappelle, CEO of Americold. 

During the five-year partnership, Americold has donated critical funds to Feed the Children as well as travelled hundreds of thousands of miles providing complimentary temperature-controlled transportation services of chilled and frozen goods. Together, the organizations have helped feed hundreds of thousands of families across America.  

Feed the Children believes it takes everyone – the nonprofit sector, corporations, community organizations, government officials and food suppliers – to come together to do good for those who need it. When efforts are combined, a greater impact is achieved. 

“We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships. Feed the Children is proud to join efforts with Americold and Welcoming Atlanta to support children and their families with access to food and essentials. Together, we are stronger than any one of us is alone.” said Travis Arnold, president and CEO of Feed the Children. 

About Americold 

Americold is the world’s largest publicly traded REIT focused on the ownership, operation, acquisitions and development of temperature-controlled warehouses. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Americold owns and operates 250 temperature-controlled warehouses, with approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet of storage, in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America. Americold’s facilities are an integral component of the supply chain connecting food producers, processors, distributors, and retailers to consumers. Visit www.americold.com for more information. 

About the Mayor’s Office of International & Immigrant Affairs – Welcoming Atlanta 

The Mayor’s Office of International & Immigrant Affairs – Welcoming Atlanta is committed to positioning Atlanta as a welcoming City—a connected, inclusive community that uplifts our foreign-born population and provides an opportunity for all—and a global hub for diplomacy, business, innovation, education, culture, and sports. MOIIA’s mission is to develop and foster relationships between Atlanta’s international communities, City departments, and external partners to empower our foreign-born population through access to information, to identify economic opportunities, and to address local and global challenges. Visit www.welcomingatlanta.com for more information.