Atlanta Hawks Return to State Farm Arena to Pack 1 Million Meals for Families

The Atlanta Hawks and State Farm are gearing up to fill State Farm Arena with volunteers again, this time for the sixth annual Million Meal Pack on September 26. The single-day event turns the arena floor into a massive assembly line, with organizers aiming to pack roughly one million shelf-stable meals for families across metro Atlanta.

Alexis Roe, the Hawks' VP of Community Impact, joined FOX 5 Atlanta to share details of the mission behind the event, which is designed to support the greater Atlanta community. The drive has grown considerably since its 2019 launch as a civic partnership between the team and State Farm, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which notes the initiative has mobilized more than 26,000 total volunteers to pack over 5.1 million meals for Atlanta-area families across its first five years.

Last year's fifth annual event set the bar high: more than 5,000 volunteers assembled a record 1,045,272 meals with an estimated food value exceeding $794,000, per WSB-TV. That 2025 milestone also marked five years of partnership between the Hawks and State Farm.

How the Assembly Line Works

The 2026 event is organized into five 90-minute shifts throughout the day, with roughly 1,000 volunteers working in teams per shift on the arena floor, the AJC reports. Volunteer teams assemble shelf-stable dry ingredients at designated tables, building meal kits from a nutrient-rich dried jambalaya mix engineered to yield six hearty servings once prepared, with U.S. Hunger providing operational support and recipe formulation.

Once packed, the meals don't stay at the arena. Assembled meal packs are distributed across metro Atlanta through a network of local non-profit partners, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Hosea Helps, Midwest Food Bank, Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta and Sweetwater Mission, according to Sports Illustrated. Those groups handle the pantry logistics and doorstep distribution once the day's packing wraps up.

A Hunger Gap That Federal Aid Doesn't Cover

The need behind the event is substantial. Atlanta Daily World reports that, per 2026 statistics from the Atlanta Community Food Bank, an estimated 1 in 8 individuals and 1 in 6 children across the Hawks' regional service area experience food insecurity, with local rates staying elevated due to housing and food cost inflation.

That local picture lines up with a statewide trend. A Feeding America study reported in July 2026 found that 1 in 6 Georgians face food insecurity, and 64% of food-insecure individuals earn incomes above the eligibility threshold for federal SNAP benefits, according to a release distributed via 24-7PressRelease. Federal assistance limits, the release notes, often fail to keep pace with localized cost-of-living increases, leaving events like the Million Meal Pack as a critical safety net for working families who don't qualify for government help.

Star Power and a Street Festival

Past Million Meal Pack events have drawn hands-on participation from current Hawks players Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson, team legend Dominique Wilkins, and local civic leaders and hip-hop artists, per Secret Atlanta. Team executives and local officials have routinely worked the assembly lines alongside residents.

Volunteers who complete their packing shifts are invited to the State Farm Street Fest along State Farm Drive, an outdoor block party featuring live entertainment, refreshments and micro-volunteering sign-ups for local non-profits, the AJC reports.

The arena's civic reputation extends beyond the annual meal drive. State Farm Arena was named to a national best-venues list in May 2024, with judges citing community service initiatives, including the Million Meal Pack and hosting voting precincts, as key differentiators that helped it earn one of only four NBA top-10 spots on the list.