Local organizations come together to host a Thanksgiving feast for food and/or insecure residents in Midtown Atlanta
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[Atlanta, ] This year a unique partnership of public, private, faith-based, and nonprofit organizations are collaborating to host a Thanksgiving feast for 250 food and/or housing-insecure residents in Midtown Atlanta two days before Thanksgiving. On , the City of Atlanta Public Defender’s Office and Lutheran Community Food Ministry will welcome community residents from – 1 p.m. Lunch will be served at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer’s property at 4th and Peachtree in the heart of Midtown.
In addition to receiving a delicious Thanksgiving meal, community residents will receive goods and services from several local nonprofits. Soul Supplies will provide socks, hats, and gloves. Intown Community Ministries will provide housing assessments. The City of Atlanta Public Defender’s Office will help with legal services. Hope through Soap will provide showers, and Paul Mitchell Barber School will have several barbers on site. Grady and Aniz will provide vaccinations, testing, and follow-up appointments for primary care. The majority of food items for the luncheon is provided to the community by Second Helpings Atlanta, a nonprofit rescuing food from grocers and local businesses such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Mercedes Benz Stadium. TechBridge (an Atlanta-based national poverty alleviation organization providing technical support to Second Helpings Atlanta) will provide photography and videography to all nonprofits supporting the luncheon.
There is a rising need for those facing and experiencing food and housing insecurity in Atlanta. This collaborative effort takes a step in the right direction of addressing immediate basic needs in our community and connecting our lunch guests to longer-term resources
, said Karen Cramer, TechBridge’s chief community impact officer.
This unique partnership began in during the COVID pandemic and continues to this day.
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City of Atlanta Public Defender’s Office
The City of Atlanta Public Defender’s Office provides high-quality, client-centered legal representation, courtroom advocacy, and a connection to social services to improve the lives of the individuals they serve. The Public Defender’s Office is a great collaborator with local nonprofits and connects community residents to available services and resources. Each week the Public Defender’s Office sends an ER Community Triage email to local nonprofits letting them know expected weather conditions and where community residents can go to get identification, housing, healthcare, medications, food, clothing, education, job training, transportation, and crisis help.
Lutheran Community Food Ministry
The Lutheran Community Food Ministry (LCFM) serves Midtown neighbors experiencing food insecurity and/or confronting unstable housing options. They provide a hot meal in a safe and friendly environment to anyone in need. The LCFM is open every Monday through Friday from until a.m. The Lutheran Community Food Ministry has been providing lunch since 1982. On October 23, 2019, the food ministry reached the milestone of its 2 millionth meal served and LCFM was recognized by the City of Atlanta in honor of this milestone. LCFM has extended its outreach to include food support to Georgia Tech students, low-income seniors, and the Donna Center, a women’s & children’s shelter.
Second Helpings Atlanta
Second Helpings Atlanta (SHA) is a nonprofit food rescue organization whose mission is to reduce hunger and food waste in the Metro Atlanta area by rescuing healthy, nutritious, surplus food and distributing it to those in need. With a community of over 200 volunteers, SHA serves as the link between a network of food donors and partner agencies that feed the hungry on a daily basis. The food they rescue every day gets diverted from landfills and is used to feed those in need, making Atlanta a more environmentally responsible metropolitan area.
TechBridge
TechBridge is a national nonprofit headquartered in Atlanta. Their mission is to break the cycle of generational poverty through the innovative use of technology, transforming nonprofit and community impact. TechBridge supports nonprofits in four pillars: hunger relief, homeless support, social justice, and workforce development. TechBridge also provides technology career programming to provide technical instruction leading to living wage employment in the tech industry.
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