CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thanks to a partnership between the Charlotte Hornets and Food Lion Feeds, 1,000 families in the Charlotte-area will have a warm Thanksgiving meal this year.

• Hornets' ninth annual Cornucopia event will take place Tuesday, November 26 at the Spectrum Center.
• Food Lion Feeds is donating Thanksgiving meal. Coca-Cola Consolidated will donate beverages.
• Each meal contains enough food to feed a family of four. 

The organizations will be providing food to families in need on Tuesday, November 26 at the Spectrum Center during the Hornets' ninth annual Cornucopia event. Distribution will begin at 1:30 p.m.

The entire Hornets team and coaching staff, Hornets executives and ambassadors, Food Lion executives and associates, Coca-Cola Consolidated executives and staff, military service members, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina will be on hand to help distribute food.

All of the Thanksgiving meal ingredients are being donated by Food Lion Feeds, which is the Official Hunger Relief Partner of the Charlotte Hornets. Items include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cut yams, sweet peas, whole kernel corn, macaroni and cheese, and cranberry sauce. 

A two-liter bottle of Sprite will also be provided with each meal, courtesy of Coca-Cola. 

Officials say each meal contains enough food to feed a family of four. That means roughly 4,000 people will be served this Thanksgiving.

“Thanksgiving provides a time to reflect on the things we are grateful for but it is also a day to spend meaningful time with family, friends and loved ones,” says Hornets President & Vice Chairman Fred Whitfield.  “The Hornets, along with our fantastic partners Food Lion and Coca-Cola, are proud to do our part to make the holiday season a little more joyous for those in our community who need a helping hand this holiday season.”

The Hornets and Food Lion Feeds have been partnering together since September 2014. In that time, they have provided more than one million meals to Charlotte families. 

“At Food Lion, we believe that all of our neighbors deserve to have a nutritious meal with family, and we recognize that many families in our home community of Charlotte have to make tough choices during the holiday season,” says Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. “We’re proud to join with the Charlotte Hornets and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina to make the holidays a little brighter for some of our neighbors in need. We’re committed to nourishing our neighbors and fighting hunger in the Charlotte community and all of the towns and cities we serve, and it is strong partnerships such as this that will make that a reality.”