Tyler Perry is giving back to his adopted city of Atlanta.

The actor and director gifted 1,000 $50 gift cards to people in need on Thursday morning. A spokesperson for Perry said the Atlanta Police Department handed out the Kroger gift cards.

"This is about the community that I love, that I live and work in. This is about good people who are in need of a hand up not a hand out. This is about the good police officers who do their job well everyday some of which are my personal friends,” Perry said in a statement. “This is about trying to bridge unity in a city that adopted me and held me up high enough to reach my own branch on the tree of success. I love Atlanta and its people!

Interim Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant talks to a man as his officers pass out gift cards for groceries to people amid the coronavirus pandemic, courtesy of filmmaker Tyler Perry.Tyler Perry
This isn’t the first time this pandemic that Perry has lent a helping hand to those who might be food insecure