Arthur Blank Family Foundation to help provide food for Atlanta communities and frontline workers

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has been in the news for his charitable contributions a lot since COVID-19 shook up society, and he has not stopped helping.

In partnership with Piedmond Healthcare, non-profit organization Chris 180, and Chef Hugh Acheson, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has announced the launch of three new programs which will provide meals to Atlanta communities and frontline medical workers.

The Piedmont Healthcare program, which launched last week, will provide 5,000 meals a week to Piedmont Hospitals in Fayette County and Newnan, just south of metro Atlanta. Providing boxed meals allows frontline healthcare workers to also practice social distancing in areas such as the hospital cafeteria where it might otherwise be difficult. Mercedes-Benz Stadium and its food and beverage partner Levy Restaurants are preparing the lunches and deliver them to the two hospitals three times a week.

In addition, Mercedes-Benz Stadium is offering its kitchens and Levy chefs to prepare food for CHRIS 180. A long-time Blank Family Foundation partner on the Westside of Atlanta, CHRIS 180 provides residents with critical support services, such as housing, behavioral health and youth development. To help address current issues with food insecurity, Mercedes-Benz Stadium is providing meals to CHRIS 180 to distribute to the Westside community.

Lastly, with a grant from the Blank Family Foundation, renowned Atlanta chef Hugh Acheson, owner of 5&10 and Empire State South, is partnering with Georgia Organics and Fueling the Frontline to deliver hundreds of meals each week to frontline workers at Atlanta Medical Center and the VA, as well as to children and families through Carver Neighborhood Market, the Metro YMCA and HEALing Community Center.

Blank (and his foundation) has done anything but sit on his hands as this pandemic has taken shape. He was among the first NFL owners to announce that he will continue paying hourly employees for the Falcons, United, and MBS during the COVID-19 shutdown.

While many other team owners would have called it a day after that (actually, a lot of them haven’t even done that much), Blank, through his family foundation, continued his charitable contributions by funding $5.4 million in relief efforts in Georgia and Montana.

Just last week, it was announced that Blank and Mercedes-Benz Stadium established a $1 million relief fund for core MBS Event-Day Associates.

Among other contributions, the Blank Family Foundation have also provided a $100,000 grant to Hands on Atlanta to support public schools across metro Atlanta and it provided $100,000 to the Atlanta Police Foundation for the enhanced sanitation of police facilities and to provision police officers and other essential employees with personal sanitation supplies.

Arthur Blank has answered the call in a time of crisis. The city of Atlanta is lucky to have him.