THE CITIZEN BLOG
THE CITIZEN BLOG
9/11 Day 2025: Remembering the Good!
On Thursday, September 11, close to 1,400 volunteers spent the day at Mercedes Benz Stadium packing more than 607, 000 meals for families across metro Atlanta, commemorating the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance.
Photos by Montyangelo Productions
For the past six years, Hands On Atlanta has gone big to honor the 9/11 Day of Remembrance—a national day of service created to “take back the day” and remind us what’s possible when we unite in service.
This year, our community showed up in a powerful way.
More than 1,400 volunteers came together to pack an incredible 607,192 meals!
Every single one of those meals will go to the Atlanta Community Food Bank to be shared with families facing food insecurity across our region. That’s real impact, powered by people who care.
For this year’s event we teamed up with Meals of Hope, Brave Public Relations, the Mercedes Benz Stadium, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank (the recipient of the 600,000+ meals) for a meaningful and fun day of service. The energy was electric all day long with our guest emcees—Karyn Greer (WSB-TV anchor), Cheryl Preheim (11Alive anchor), Michele Grear (Atlanta Community Food Bank), and the one and only DJ Smoov, keeping spirits high! We closed out the day with remarks from Greg Sims (Atlanta Community Food Bank) with a powerful reminder of what’s possible when our community comes together, uniting in service and creating change!
Across three shifts, volunteers stood shoulder to shoulder with community leaders and first responders, proving that service is stronger when we do it together. Each shift joined in a moment of silence, followed by performances of “America the Beautiful” by Benjamin Mays High School Choir and Hands On Atlanta’s own Jemarlo Brown!
Learn more about 9/11 Day and how you can get involved at www.911day.org and for more meal packing opportunities and events or to discover other ways to fight food insecurity across metro Atlanta visit www.handsonatlanta.org/food.
feeling inspired?
We’re just getting started with our Fall season line up of service. Next up, we’re keeping the Hunger Action Month momentum alive with 5,000 volunteers at State Farm Arena for the Million Meal Pack on September 27, 2025.
After, you don’t have to wait to do something good. From October 4 -11, 2025, we’re teaming up with The Same House for Hands On Atlanta Week - Atlanta’s biggest week of service. There are hundreds of opportunities and events you can sign up for addressing food insecurity, education, environmental sustainability and more throughout the week.
Meet Hands On Hunger Pantry - Stella Love
Meet one of our newest Hands On Hunger pantries - Stella Love Non-Profit!
Stella Love Non-Profit is a Georgia-based non-profit organization that first started by distributing hot & ready meals to the homeless in downtown Atlanta. Now they have grown to provide services to single-parent households, low-income families, children, youth, and many more!
Meet one of our newest Hands On Hunger pantries - Stella Love Non-Profit!
Stella Love Non-Profit is a Georgia-based non-profit organization that first started by distributing hot & ready meals to the homeless in downtown Atlanta. Now they have grown to provide services to single-parent households, low-income families, children, youth, and many more!
Every month they may serve anywhere from 100 to 300 families, and families say “when you walk into the office, you can feel the love.” Learn more about Stella Love Non-Profit, and how you can help below!
Tell us about why you applied to the Hands On Hunger Program and what you're goals are for the next two years.
We applied to the Hands On Hunger Program because we believed with this program's help, we could dramatically improve the overall structure of our organization. This improvement would allow us to more efficiently handle our returning and new volunteers as well as our ability to help our clients better than before
Tell us about your organization - what's your mission, and how does it impact our community?
Stella Love Non-Profit cares for children, low-income families, single-parent households, and unhoused individuals who need help. We are motivated by the love of God and hope to provide optimism for the future and an environment where all those we are struggling can look to us for support; to be a lifeline for them while they return to socioeconomic stability.
“If you ever find yourself in need of extra food, this is the place to go!”
What's the history of your organization? How and why did it get started?
Stella Love Non-Profit is a Georgia-based non-profit organization that first started by distributing hot & ready meals to the homeless in downtown Atlanta. We have grown to provide services to single-parent households, low-income families, children, youth, and many more individuals who require assistance to get by. This organization was founded because of Stella Love's desire to help those who are experiencing financial hardships. After going through a period of homelessness and financial hardship herself, she knows firsthand how hard it can be to climb back up to stability. That's why she founded this organization—to help others climb back up too.
How do volunteers support your mission? What impact do they have on your work? What is possible through the support of volunteers that would not be possible otherwise?
Stella Love Non-Profit has relied heavily on volunteers who have supported our programs since our inception. Volunteers are crucial in Stella Love’s ability to provide quality social services for the entire community. Volunteers are valuable assets, and efforts to meet the changing needs of our community. Through the skills and experience they bring to us, volunteers make significant contributions to society by positively impacting the lives of those we assist, such as providing more groceries to low-income families and single-parent households or distributing food to multitudes of homeless individuals in downtown Atlanta.
What community problem is your organization trying to solve? Can you tell us more about the issue?
The community problem we are trying to solve is financial burden and hunger. Many individuals in our community live in low-income households and experience the burden of having to use their relatively small income for several financial responsibilities. So, we intend to alleviate some of those financial responsibilities by lessening their need to spend their funds on necessities such as food, clothing, and other household items.
“Food insecurity is touching the lives of more people than ever. The choice often has to be made to buy food or keep the utilities on. Stella Love nonprofit makes it possible for my family to know we will have nutritious food no matter how limited our funds might be any given week. Stella and volunteers, you are a true blessing”
What kind of programming do you offer the community?
Family Aid, Feed the Homeless, and Free Food Distribution are our main programs; however, in the local community, the program we conduct most often is our Free Food Distribution where families come to our office to collect food that we receive from stores such as Publix and Costco.
What types of projects do you offer? Tell us about a few different offerings. Do you have monthly or weekly recurringopportunities? How about your seasonal or annual events?
Family Aid, Feed the Homeless, and Free Food Distribution are our main programs. Family Aid is a program that focuses on helping low-income families and single-parent households that are struggling to make ends meet by providing groceries and other necessities. Feed the Homeless is where we travel to downtown Atlanta to provide food, clothing, hygiene packs, and other goods to the unhoused. Lastly, Feed Food Distribution is where we redistribute the food given to us by our partners such as Publix, Costco, and Atlanta Community Food Bank to the local community. Also, we commit ourselves to hosting annual, recurring holiday specials (i.e., Easter Egg Hunt, Back-To-School Giveaway, Thanksgiving Giveaway, Breakfast with Santa, Christmas Giveaway) and weekly bread and sandwich distributions.
“Stella love non-profit has been amazing my niece’s and nephews love going to the events they have and participate in the activities I come and get food every other week I enjoy seeing everyone’s smile when I come up to get my food. The volunteers are awesome.”
Tell us about what it's like to serve with your organization. How many volunteers do you host every month?
Every month, depending on the events that we conduct each month, we could host between 15 to 50 volunteers in total.
What keeps volunteers coming back to serve with your organization?
We believe volunteers keep coming back to serve with us due to our fun atmosphere, variety of event opportunities that provide a different experience each time, and our consistent volunteer appreciation such as donuts, water, T-shirts, and more!
Tell us about how volunteers can jump in and get involved. How can they best support you?
Volunteers can find + sign up for our open projects here!
Volunteers can get involved by signing up for any event of their choosing on our website! We offer lots of different events that provide unique experiences and satisfy wherever their interests are, whether that is working in a stadium, serving food to homeless individuals, or setting up items for our seasonal giveaways!
Where can volunteers find your organization on socials?
Instagram - @iamstellalove
TikTok - @iamstellalove1
To learn more about our Hands On Hunger program visit www.handsonatlanta.org/hunger
Meet Hands On Hunger Pantry - Another Chance of Atlanta
Meet one of our newest Hands On Hunger pantries - Another Chance of Atlanta! New to Atlanta, Another Chance of Atlanta is trying to help solve homelessness and food insecurity in Southwest Atlanta.
Meet one of our newest Hands On Hunger pantries - Another Chance of Atlanta! New to Atlanta, Another Chance of Atlanta is trying to help solve homelessness and food insecurity in Southwest Atlanta. Their food pantry serves roughly 1200 individuals + families a month with supplemental food.
Along with feeding the community, they offer housing and financial assistance to the community. They are truly making an impact here in Atlanta, and we’re excited to help them continue the fight against food insecurity.
Read more about Another Chance of Atlanta below!
Tell us about why you applied to the Hands On Hunger Program and what you're goals are for the next two years.
Our food pantry has only been open for a year and we are growing and improving. We understand that we would have to be connected to a much larger network to get the consistency of volunteers to serve our population. Our goal is to capitalize on volunteers and understand volunteer management utilizing data, metrics and the systems as well as reporting. We want to understand all the processes involved during these next 2 years. We are very eager to learn!!
Tell us about your organization - what's your mission, and how does it impact our community?
Our organization's mission is to provide food, a structural living environment & life enhancement skills to those who are homeless/low-income and those individuals seeking to recover from substance abuse, domestic violence and other behavioral problems. This ultimately impacts our community by reducing and improving the lives of our most 'vulnerable' populations.
“The main thing that keeps volunteers coming back is that we are organized and have a system going. Although we are always looking for new innovative ideas to get better and improve. We make sure that the volunteer experience is a good one each time.”
What's the history of your organization? How and why did it get started?
Initially our organization started off with just helping women in need back in 2000. Our executive director has a very unique story and because of her journey and life experience she made it her passion to give back. She was in a place of need at one point in her life and she remembers what resources were there and what wasn't during her time of survival.
How do volunteers support your mission? What impact do they have on your work? What is possible through the support of volunteers that would not be possible otherwise?
Volunteers support our mission by helping us to provide care and assistance to those who are in most need. The impact they have on our work is allowing us to reach and serve a much greater number of vulnerable people. This level of service allows individuals to understand that we are here and we too have compassion and that we just want to help. If we didn't have the support of volunteers we wouldn't be successful in our day to day operations. We are a small agency with a small staff. It would be impossible for us to provide a high level of care, assistance and resources to a great mass of individuals in need.
What community problem is your organization trying to solve? Can you tell us more about the issue?
Our agency is trying to help solve homelessness and food insecurity in Southwest Atlanta. This may be a far reach but primarily in the areas that we serve. Since COVID rents have skyrocketed and folks are having a hard time deciding whether to pay for rent or food because of the inflated prices. This issue is a major issue and we understand this takes a great collaboration of like minded-people, agencies and the government to solve. This is a collective effort.
Can you share some impact stats or comments about the work being done by your organization? For example, how many meals/families/individuals do you serve monthly?
Currently our food pantry operations serve roughly 1200 individuals/families a month with supplemental food. In addition, we provide space for our partner agencies to come out to provide resources to those who visit our pantry.
What kind of programming do you offer the community?
We offer food, housing and financial assistance to the community. Financial assistance by way of rental assistance, security deposit & utility assistance and hotel vouchers.
What types of projects do you offer? Tell us about a few different offerings. Do you have monthly or weekly recurringopportunities? How about your seasonal or annual events?
Our agency offers housing for homeless disabled veterans. From time to time when veterans move on we have to do light renovations to the units; such as: painting, cleaning etc to get the unit ready for the next veteran. We also have another housing program for at-risk homeless men and women and after they move out we have projects for that program to do some light renovation work. We do have seasonal and annual community giveaway events throughout the year. Some events include Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Back 2 School, September Recovery Month Events, Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaways and Toys 4 Tots.
Tell us about what it's like to serve with your organization. How many volunteers do you host every month?
We host about 30 volunteers a month. Most are recurring volunteers who love our organization and the work that we do. The atmosphere is pleasant and professional. We care about our volunteers and it's our priority to ensure that they have a good experience each time they volunteer!
Tell us about how volunteers can jump in and get involved. How can they best support you?
Volunteers can find + sign up for our open projects here!
Volunteers can support us with our Food Pantry and with the light renovation of our Housing Programs for the at-risk and disabled homeless veterans. Volunteers can also best support us by volunteering at our events such as Toys 4 Tots and Back 2 School just to name a couple.
Where can volunteers find your organization on socials?
To learn more about our Hands On Hunger program visit www.handsonatlanta.org/hunger
Introducing our Class of 2026 Hands On Hunger Cohort!
We’re excited to introduce our newest Hands On Hunger cohort! Since 2018, in partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, we’ve led 10 cohorts of pantries through our intensive 2 year capacity-building program, with this being our 11th.
We’re excited to introduce our newest Hands On Hunger cohort! Since 2018, in partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, we’ve led 10 cohorts of pantries through our intensive 2 year capacity-building program, with this being our 11th.
Throughout this program we help by providing capacity for each agency (pantry) through volunteer management best practices, access to enterprise level software, marketing and outreach, and pro-level account management and customer service - to fully support volunteer engagement. Through this, agencies can more effectively retain repeat volunteers in order to support their mission and distribute more food to their communities.
Meet our newest cohort fighting food insecurity:
To learn more about our Hands On Hunger program visit www.handsonatlanta.org/hunger
Thousands of volunteers pack 1.5 million meals for families across Metro Atlanta
Over the course of just 2 days, close to 6,000 volunteers came together to pack almost 1.5 million meals that will be distributed here locally in Metro Atlanta. Hands On Atlanta was there with support staff volunteers to ensure the Million Meal Pack at State Farm Arena and the 9/11 Day of Remembrance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium hit their meal packing goals. Learn more about these fun and meaningful events and how you can get involved in our fight against food insecurity.
On Saturday, September 9, 2023 the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm gathered 5,000 volunteers at the award-winning State Farm Arena to pack more than one million meals as part of the 2023 Million Meal Pack! Volunteers were joined by Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman, Hawks and State Farm Arena Chief Executive Officer Steve Koonin, State Farm Senior Vice President Dan Krause, NBA Hall of Famer and Hawks Legend Dominique Wilkins, Hawks Forward Jalen Johnson and a few other special guests who shared heartfelt gratitude to the volunteers who devoted their time to support the team’s largest single-day community service effort of the year.
Individuals, families, community groups, schools, churches, businesses and more congregated on the arena floor to pack the meals. Together with volunteers from U.S. Hunger and executives from both the Hawks and State Farm, they collectively achieved an impressive total of 1,020,672 meals packed.
“The Million Meal Pack was once again an incredible event, with thousands of volunteers coming together to help our Atlanta neighbors struggling with food insecurity,” said Dan Krause, Senior Vice President at State Farm. “We were proud to bring together local State Farm agents, employees and community volunteers to make a meaningful difference. We appreciate everyone who participated and give thanks to the Atlanta Hawks for our ongoing partnership in giving back and strengthening our communities.”
The packed meals will be distributed throughout the metro Atlanta area with the operational support of U.S. Hunger, a hunger relief organization with innovative programs designed to help feed people struggling with food insecurity. Additionally, 12 other local organizations will help distribute the meals including Atlanta Community Food Bank, Community Assistance Center, Fountain of Hope, Georgia State University Panther’s Pantry, Goodr, Hope Atlanta, Latin American Association, Midwest Food Bank, Meals On Wheels Atlanta, North Fulton Community Charities, Second Helpings and the Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta.
On the following Monday, September 11, 2023, seventeen cities across the country observed the 22nd 9/11 of Remembrance, packing meals for their local communities. In total, more than 6.5 million meals were packed by more than 10,000 volunteers.
Here in Atlanta, Mayor Andre Dickens, several current and former Atlanta Falcons (including our old friend Freddie) joined close to 1,000 volunteers to pack more than 350,000 meals at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Today we are packing between 350,000 meals, it’s all going to be oatmeal. It’s going to be distributed to our partners at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and then they are going to help distribute it to all the food pantries in the metro Atlanta region,” said Jay Cranman, CEO of Hands On Atlanta.
One of the volunteers, Alesha Bell shared, “This is a perfect way to give back and remember the lives lost on 9/11. But also feeding the community is important, it helps us thrive.”
Thank you’s and high-fives to all of our support staff volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make all of this incredible impact happen! If you want to get involved and do something about food insecurity, click the button below to find an opportunity near you.
Over 172,000 meals packed for metro Atlanta families for the 2022 9/11 Day of Service
On Monday, September 12, close to 400 volunteers spent the day at the Georgia World Congress Center packing more than 172,000 meals for families across metro Atlanta, commemorating the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance.
Photos by City of Atlanta Government
On Monday, September 12, close to 400 volunteers spent the day at the Georgia World Congress Center packing more than 172,000 meals for families across metro Atlanta, commemorating the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance.
Now an annual day of service in Atlanta, this is the 3rd year Hands On Atlanta has partnered with MyGoodDeed (d.b.a. 9/11 Day) the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that created the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. Their mission is to take back the day, transform the anniversary of 9/11 into a national day of doing good, and in the process rekindle the spirit of unity that arose in America in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Together, we’ve engaged thousands of volunteers and packed over 500,000 meals for metro Atlanta families!
Atlanta Mayor, Andre Dickens and members of the Mayor’s Office joined the meal pack and spoke to the volunteers, sharing his energy, the impact and power of today’s event and thanking all the volunteers and organizers for their efforts.
For this year’s event we teamed up with Meals of Hope, Brave Public Relations, the Georgia World Congress Center, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank (the recipient of the 172,000+ meals) for a meaningful and fun day of service. Guest emcee and WSB-TV evening anchor, Karyn Greer kept the energy in the room electric and brought authenticity to the work and the purpose of uniting in service.
Ashley Graylee, a volunteer from Novelis summed up the event perfectly saying, “Coming together and doing something good for others, it just feels good, and it feels like 21 years later we are still honoring those who have lost so much.”
Learn more about 9/11 Day and how you can get involved at www.911day.org and for more meal packing opportunities and events or to discover other ways to fight food insecurity across metro Atlanta visit www.handsonatlanta.org/food.
feeling inspired?
You don’t have to wait to do something good. From September, 20-27, 2022, we’re teaming up with the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation for Hands On Atlanta Week - Atlanta’s biggest week of service. There are hundreds of opportunities and events you can sign up for addressing food insecurity, education, environmental sustainability and more throughout the week.
How volunteering can feed those in need & soothe the soul
Traditionally, this time of year brings up many feelings of altruism. As we gather around our tables enjoying meals prepared by and shared with loved ones on dark, chilly evenings, the knowledge that others might not have a holiday meal or food in their cupboards is striking in contrast. Volunteering at a food bank, soup kitchen, or stocking a local free pantry are all wonderful ways to share the love with those who might not otherwise have access to healthy, fresh food.
Traditionally, this time of year brings up many feelings of altruism. As we gather around our tables enjoying meals prepared by and shared with loved ones on dark, chilly evenings, the knowledge that others might not have a holiday meal or food in their cupboards is striking in contrast. Volunteering at a food bank, soup kitchen, or stocking a local free pantry are all wonderful ways to share the love with those who might not otherwise have access to healthy, fresh food.
I spoke with Tim Adkins, Director of Marketing and Communications for Hands On Atlanta about Atlanta’s hunger problem and what is being done to address it. “We can’t keep up with the need from our partners, specifically our food pantry partners,” said Adkins.
Between August of 2020 and July of 2021, Hands On Atlanta has supplied more than 9,500 volunteers to support the Atlanta Community Food Bank as they distribute a whopping 8.6 million meals to 22 food pantries located throughout the city and far into the suburbs. Additionally, Hands On Atlanta’s Meals 4 Kids program and COVID-19 specific relief efforts have supplied 8,000 meals to families in that same timeframe.
“Last year we engaged about 15,000 people in service to serve approximately 130,000 hours in the community,” Adkins explained, and while Hands On Atlanta is an organization dedicated to a myriad of nonprofits in a variety of sectors, Adkins says that the pandemic has really highlighted an increased need specifically centered around food insecurity. Of those 15,000 volunteers engaged by Hands On Atlanta nearly 10,000 were focused on providing healthy meals to those in need.
Calling the issue “just staggering,” Adkins and the Hands On Atlanta team are committed to activating people, both as individuals and within the context of corporate teams, in an effort to facilitate the distribution of donations from organizations to the communities that need them.
“We really wanted to lean in,” said Adkins, who says he has seen exponential growth in the amount of food that has come into the Food Bank and then back out into the community.
While one of the biggest impacts can be seen from companies bringing in teams of employees to volunteer their time, COVID has restricted those opportunities and today most volunteering efforts employ less than 50 people at a time. Nonprofits such as Urban Recipe and the Community Assistance Center regularly post their opportunities with Hands On Atlanta, but are typically seeking between four to six volunteers for a given activation.
Some local companies that have regularly given back through volunteering with Hands On Atlanta include Home Depot, Chick-fil-A, the Coca-Cola Company, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, United Postal Service, NCR, and the Norfolk Southern Railroad.
“Even if you couldn’t physically help, there are things you can do to be supportive like writing a letter in support of someone who may have fallen on hard times. It really does mean a lot, just having some encouragement means a lot. To really understand why, and why it matters, is to create empathy,” said Adkins. And it’s not only good for the community, giving back has benefits for the volunteer as well.
“Studies have shown that volunteering meets all of the things that the pandemic has caused: isolation, stress, feeling no sense of purpose,” Adkins continued. “It has been proven that volunteering gives you confidence, a sense of community, and a sense of purpose. There is intrinsic value as well, it’s great for the community but also for the individual.”
As we talked, Adkins shared a few local organizations that he feels are making great strides in the battle against hunger. Free99Fridge.com, Second Helpings Atlanta – Assemble and Pack Food Donations, and Open Hand Atlanta are all dedicated to providing not only non-perishable and shelf-stable foods, but also fresh fruit, produce, and whole meals to those in need throughout the city.
So this year, if you find that you’ve got enough love to share, whether it be in the form of food or monetary donations or through actual physical assistance to soup kitchen, food pantries, and all of the auxiliary organizations that support the efforts to get food into the hands of those who need it, there are some truly remarkable ways you can aid in the fight against food insecurity.
Get started right now by searching this list of food insecurity related projects on Hands On Atlanta’s calendar. Here are some other projects to explore throughout Thanksgiving:
Volunteer with Atlanta Community Food Bank as an individual or a group
Virtual Meals on Wheels which includes projects people can do from home
Thanksgiving Dinner and Coat Giveaway with Area in Need Missionary House on November 13 and 20
The Pantry at Chapelhill Atlanta on November 20
Thanksgiving Event and Mobile Food Pantry Distribution with Streetwise on November 20
Grady Fresh Food Cart with Grady Health System in Brookhaven on November 24
Stock the Pantry with Grace Community Food Pantry on November 24
Thanksgiving Give Back with SSA, delivering nourishing meals to low-income and homebound seniors in Fulton County on November 20 (Registration required by November 15)
Giving Tuesday with Hosea Helps, this annual Thanksgiving drive-through event at the Georgia World Congress Center Blue Parking Lot seeks volunteers age 12+ to fill 10 shifts on November 19
Volunteer with the Atlanta Mission, serve meals to men residing at The Shepherd’s Inn or the women and children at My Sister’s House, many dates available
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Food Rescue Driver with Second Helpings Atlanta
Second Helpings Atlanta, Inc. (SHA) is a non-profit food rescue organization whose mission is to reduce hunger and food waste in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Their volunteers help by using their personal vehicles to rescue surplus fresh and prepared food from their Food Donors and deliver it to their Partner Agencies - all nonprofit organizations that feed those in need.
How it Works
Who should sign up:
People that are passionate about food insecurity, reducing waste, volunteerism, and/or helping their community.
At least 18 years old, can comfortably lift 30lbs, has a valid driver’s license, a registered/insured personal vehicle, and will follow CDC guidelines (i.e. Wearing a Mask).
When and where you serve:
Their Food Rescue Program runs in the morning, seven days a week, and only takes 90 minutes of your time - plenty of opportunities to work around your busy schedule.
13 mile routes around metro Atlanta
If you are looking for a low contact volunteer experience, being a Second Helpings Atlanta Food Rescue Driver will be perfect for you.