Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens joined Grammy-winning artist and philanthropist Ciara Princess Wilson on Tuesday, December 23, to announce a $500,000 donation aimed at strengthening food access for families across Atlanta and Georgia, directing major support to the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Southwest Atlanta Cares.
The announcement was made at the Southwest Atlanta Cares Hub inside the fellowship hall of Saint Peter Missionary Baptist Church, a longtime anchor in Atlanta’s West End area. The location highlighted the city’s reliance on neighborhood-based institutions as food insecurity continues to rise across metro Atlanta and North Georgia, particularly during the winter months.
Ciara said the donation, made through the Why Not You Foundation she shares with her husband, New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson, reflects both her personal ties to Atlanta and the broader need facing families throughout Georgia. She described Atlanta as a city that helped shape her values and sense of purpose. Though born in Fort Hood, Texas, Ciara spent her teenage years in College Park, a suburb of Atlanta, where her family ultimately settled after moving across the country as part of a military upbringing. She attended North Clayton High School before graduating from Riverdale, and said her connection to metro Atlanta remains central to how she understands community and responsibility. Ciara added that the region’s ongoing struggles with hunger, particularly among children and working families speak to the need for sustained, local investment rather than one-time relief.
“One in six children goes to bed hungry, and that has to change,” Ciara said while announcing the $500,000 contribution. She said the gift is intended to expand food security efforts while empowering families and young people across Atlanta to pursue their goals with stability and dignity.
Dickens said the donation builds on recent citywide efforts to address food access, including the launch of ATL Cares, an emergency response initiative created after delays in federal SNAP benefits disrupted households throughout Atlanta. Those delays, he said, exposed how quickly families across Georgia can be pushed into crisis when safety nets falter…