Leaders of Action Ministries and the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association announced that their joint “Drive Out Hunger” campaign in May raised $125,000, which translates to nearly 250,000 meals for food-insecure families in Georgia.

Close to 1 million children in the state lose access to free and reduced-price lunches when school is out for the summer, adding to the burden of parents already struggling with poverty. Georgia new automobile dealers, who are closely connected to their local communities, aimed to do something to help in 2015. During the month of May, participating dealerships around the state donated a portion of their sales and repair orders to fill food boxes that contain enough food to feed a family for up to five days.  Action Ministries will distribute the boxes to food pantries and local partners across the state.  These partners will then provide the boxes to families in need in their local areas. 

A total of 63 new-automobile dealer locations participated in the Drive Out Hunger campaign.  

“The Drive Out Hunger campaign with GADA encouraged me in my belief that a group of committed, compassionate individuals can make a huge impact on poverty across our state,” said Action Ministries President & CEO John Moeller Jr. 

“This was a wonderful program for our new-automobile dealers, as hunger affects every community in our state. I see this program only getting better in the coming years, and my hope is that we drive out hunger once and for all in Georgia" said Steve Everett, vice president of Langdale Ford (Valdosta, Ga.) and chairman of the GADA Board of Directors. 

 “Georgia new-automobile dealers have long played a huge role in strengthening their communities,” said GADA President Bill Morie. “We are proud of the time and effort our dealers put into the Drive Out Hunger campaign and the major impact they made in helping feed Georgia families in need.”