Macon County residents get help with Thanksgiving meals from Roquan Smith

The food giveaway was organized by former Macon County High School and UGA football star Roquan Smith, who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens.

November 14, 2023

Andrew Willis,

MONTEZUMA, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – As families prepare to gather around the table for Thanksgiving next week, buying enough food for the holiday can be hard for some households, but a famous former resident of Montezuma is giving back to the community during the season of giving.

Cars lined up outside of the Preston Williams Family Center in Montezuma as early as 7 a.m. on Tuesday to receive essential food items for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The food giveaway was organized by former Macon County High School and UGA football star, Roquan Smith.

Now a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, the giveaway is Smith’s way of saying “thank you” to his community, according to the Director of the Roquan Smith Foundation, Shaquwanda Baker.

“Generally, everyone that comes through the line are so grateful to Roquan for the hard work he does, and then to see him pour back the labor of love into the community as well,” Baker said.

Six hundred turkeys and 600 boxes of produce were provided to residents of Macon County by local businesses AgGeorgia Farm Credit, Howard Brown Farms and Piggly Wiggly.

The boxes included foods like cabbage, collard greens, peas, corn and sweet potatoes.

For members of the community, the giveaway helps take the load off for people in need during the holidays.

“It’s just a blessing,” Macon County resident Elizabeth Thomas said.

“You know, that Roquan is giving back to his community and everything, and I know for a fact that it is a blessing to a lot of people, because I also work at the food bank,” Thomas said. “So I know a lot of people come through, and it relieved them every year because ‘Quan does this, so they know that Thanksgiving is given to them.”

If you’re interested in volunteering for next year’s Thanksgiving Food Drive, you can contact the Roquan Smith Foundation by calling (571) 229-7133.