ATLANTA — Imagine having to decide each day whether to purchase food or fill your gas tank. Whether to buy food or pick up the prescription your doctor says you need. Or whether to buy food or pay the light bill so your family won’t be cold or in the dark as winter looms.
These aren’t hypothetical scenarios: they are the daily decisions that 1-in-8 of our neighbors in metro Atlanta must make each day.
The Salvation Army of Metropolitan Atlanta has been there for Georgians, easing the burden of food insecurity for thousands of our neighbors, many of whom suffer in silence.
And it was 40 years ago, when 11Alive’s community relations manager at the time, Sheryl Gripper, reached out to the Salvation Army about partnering to collect food items for some of those families who had to make those tough choices.
From that initial conversation, the 11Alive Holiday Can-a-thon was born.
For the past four decades, the Friday after Thanksgiving week has always been the event day for the Holiday Can-a-thon. Year after year, schools, businesses, and organizations in Atlanta collect and donate canned food and nonperishable items to fill the Salvation Army pantries for an entire year.
For the past 40 years, 11Alive employees – from engineers, producers, directors, reporters, managers to our anchors – have risen in the pre-dawn hours in early December to join Salvation Army volunteers at our event locations to greet generous Atlanta donors who show up with their canned food items to give to those in need. It is an annual holiday tradition at 11Alive and an employee favorite for giving back and directly helping our neighbors.
A look back: 11Alive Holiday Can-A-Thon celebrates 40 years
Publix Super Markets has been a partner and sponsor of the event for almost two decades, helping provide logistic support, as well as the donation of food items to The Salvation Army through the Can-a-thon.
Schools across the metro show up each year with thousands of canned food items, as well as businesses like Primrose Schools, Primerica and Dunkin Donuts.
In 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced in our communities, 11Alive had to adjust to offer new ways for the community to support the Can-A-Thon and The Salvation Army. Through virtual and online options for donations, the Atlanta community responded. We were able to collect enough food items to stock the shelves at several Salvation Army food pantries throughout the community.
In 2022, for the 40th Annual 11Alive Holiday Can-A-Thon we are offering a new location in South Fulton at the Salvation Army Kroc Center to collect canned goods, increasing our on-site event locations to four! 11Alive and The Salvation Army invite the community to join them in their efforts.
Here’s how it works:
Start collecting canned goods and non-perishable food items this fall. Then, on Friday, December 2, drop off your donations at one of four convenient locations in Atlanta: Cobb, Fulton, Gwinnett, or DeKalb counties:
- Marietta: 202 Waterman Street SE, Marietta, GA 30060
- Atlanta: 967 Dewey St, Atlanta, GA 30310
- Lawrenceville: 3455 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville, GA 30044
- Brookhaven: 2090 North Druid Hills Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329
Because hunger never takes a holiday, there are more opportunities to join the fight against food insecurity. If you can’t attend the drop off event on December 2, starting November 8 through December 31, individuals can help us fight hunger from the comfort of their homes or the palms of their hands:
- Donate Online: salvationarmy.org
- Amazon Wishlist: Search “Can-A-Thon” to find our shopping list to fulfill a need
To register a school, business, or organization to participate the event on Friday, December 2, click here.
More information can be found at 11Alive.com/canathon.