Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson continues to make his presence felt in his new home of Houston, Texas. The entertainment mogul’s G-Unity Foundation partnered with the Houston Rockets on Tuesday to give away 1,000 turkeys to those in need. Along with each turkey, Jackson and other volunteers distributed items collected by the G-Unity Foundation, Kroger, and Spec’s. To complete each holiday gift package, the Houston Rockets offered ticket vouchers to an upcoming home game at the Toyota Center.
“We started at six setting up, and there were people that got here before us, so the line was already long, but we do this every year throughout the year and the line always starts early and ends long,” Houston Rockets Community Relations Vice President Sara Joseph said.
“There’s so many families in Houston that are just not able to provide food for their families this holiday season, so we’re happy to be able to do this.”
Like many other U.S. cities, Houston is actively fighting against food insecurity. Two months ago, Houston City Councilman Edward Pollard told Houston Public Media that 738,000 Houstonians had no access to healthy food and 360,000 children are experiencing food insecurity.
“If you think about it, the city of Houston has about 2.3 million people, so almost 1/3 of Houstonians are facing food insecurities,” he explained.
As startling as those statistics may be, food insecurity in Houston is only 4% above the national average. In an effort to fight against this issue, the Houston Food Bank has launched the “100 Pantries In 100 Days” initiative. A news release obtained by Click 2 Houston says that the “project allows non-profits, including community centers and faith-based organizations, to establish food pantries in communities by using refurbished residential refrigerators provided by Whirlpool Corp.”
The #Rockets partnered with @50cent’s G-Unity Foundation and @Kroger for a Thanksgiving Turkey Drive!
One thousand turkeys were given away this morning at @ToyotaCenter ?@Kroger | #RocketsGiveBack pic.twitter.com/CxPicbjjit
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) November 22, 2022
