Cars line up for miles for Tyler Perry Atlanta food giveaway

Tyler Perry Studios said they had enough boxes of canned vegetables and $25 gift cards for 5,000 families to drive through and pick up

Associated Press

Nov 23, 2020

Thousands of people jammed roads for miles in Atlanta on Sunday to try to get boxes of food and gift cards donated by entertainer Tyler Perry.

Tyler Perry Studios said they had enough boxes of canned vegetables and $25 gift cards for 5,000 families to drive through and pick up.

The studio said it was out of food by 10 a.m. Sunday.

The line started forming Saturday and at one point stretched for 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of downtown Atlanta, media outlets reported.

Volunteers in protective equipment were handing out the food and gift cards.

Tyler Perry theGrio.com — Tyler Perry attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Perry’s volunteer work came just a few days after he delivered a rousing speech at the People’s Choice Awards on Nov. 15. The media mogul, who made sure to acknowledge his Tyler Perry Studios staff, was honored with the People’s Champion Award.

“I’m so inspired and moved by this moment. I’m grateful. When I think about all these people, these underdogs, some former prisoners in jail for 20 years, one in jail for seven, they always inspire me,” he said about his staff. “So when this pandemic hit, I knew I needed to do all I could to make sure they could continue in this great place that they’re headed towards. In their lives, in their marriages, businesses that they started for themselves, and their own companies and their houses, sending their kids to school.”

He continued, “You may be four inches away from every gift and every blessing that you ever wanted in your life. Had I given up, when I was homeless, when I was sleeping in my car, when I was hungry, had I given up, these people that you see on this screen right now would not be a part of my dream.”

“There are people who are tied to your dream and your destiny, and you are worthy of getting to your goal. Keep digging, don’t stop…When you get there, when you get to that water and you see it coming and you know what you need, this is what I always want you to remember: make sure everybody that you run into meets you at your worth.”

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