Atlanta Apartment Association Kicks Off Annual Food-A-Thon on June 10

Staff Report

The Atlanta Apartment Association (AAA) will start its annual Food-A-Thon, which benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB), with a kick-off event at the Cobb Galleria Centre on June 10.

The event – which will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and provide association members with tips on how to maximize the food and cash they collect – marks the start of a four-month food and fund drive that concludes in October, when AAA members will deliver their donations to ACFB’s headquarters in a colorful parade.

This marks the 28th year of the Food-A-Thon, a campaign which has grown to one of the largest food and fund drives in the United States. In 2014, the Food-A-Thon collected enough food items and money to provide 7 million meals to hungry families in Georgia. This year’s drive has the theme of “Who You Gonna Call? Foodbusters!” and will involve dozens of companies from the apartment industry and the participants will use the theme to help them raise cash and collect food.

“We are excited to partner with ACFB for our 28th Annual Food-A-Thon,” said 2015 AAA Chairman Tim Schrager, of Perennial Properties, Inc. “Our members are excited to once again rise to the challenge of helping those in need gain access to nutritional food. We anticipate that this year will be our largest donation yet.”

Founded in 1979, ACFB 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, ACFB can provide $9.21 worth of grocery products back into the community, which is enough to provide four meals.

The statistics on those in need in Georgia are sobering: 18.7 percent of residents – and 28.2 percent of children – are food insecure, which means they don’t know where their next meal is coming from, according to Feeding America. Furthermore, nearly 20 percent of Georgians are living in poverty, up from just under 13 percent in 2000, according to the Census Bureau.

At the end of this year’s drive, AAA will award two top prizes: one to the member firm that raises the most cash and one to the company that collects the most food items.