{"id":11685,"date":"2020-05-19T23:31:58","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T23:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/georgia\/?p=11685"},"modified":"2020-05-19T23:44:24","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T23:44:24","slug":"this-month-thankahungerhero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/georgia\/2020\/05\/19\/this-month-thankahungerhero\/","title":{"rendered":"This month, #ThankAHungerHero"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The coronavirus pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on families throughout the country. In Georgia, school closures mean that the millions of\u00a0kids who rely on school meals are at risk for going without the food they\u2019ve depended on during the school year.\u00a0<\/p>

When their communities needed them more than ever, schools, food banks, pantries and community organizations all across the state stepped up in incredible ways. Because of them, kids throughout Georgia\u00a0have remained nourished during the crisis.\u00a0<\/p>

These frontline hunger heroes – school nutrition and transportation professionals, community leaders, administrators, teachers, and volunteers – have done everything they can to ensure that kids continue to have access to meals. They\u2019ve worked tirelessly, often for longer shifts and without days off. They\u2019ve also found creative ways to get meals to kids, distributing weekly bags of fresh produce, providing curb-side meal pick-up and even hopping on school buses to deliver meals directly to kids\u2019 homes. These hunger heroes have shown tremendous dedication over the past weeks, all while juggling mounting stress and uncertainty. Check out this week’s heroes below!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Fulton County Schools<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Mimosa<\/figure><\/div>
\"Fulton<\/figure><\/div>
\"Fulton<\/figure><\/div>
\"Fulton<\/figure><\/div>
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When the district closure was first announced, the Fulton County School Nutrition Program knew one of the top priorities included continuing to provide nutritious meals for their students and families.\u00a0They began working on a food distribution plan for families to pick-up meals at centrally located school sites throughout the district.\u00a0Fulton County named these feeding sites FoodStop\u00a0Drive-Thrus<\/em>, and they provide an opportunity for families to drive through and pick up meals for children in their family. To maximize social distancing, drivers stay in their cars and let staff know how many meals they need for their family. Staff members then place the bagged meals in the trunk or backseat of the car. Walkers are also welcome to walk up and grab a meal to-go. The Fulton County School Nutrition Program\u00a0provides around 63,000 meals a week to families from the FoodStop\u00a0Drive-Thrus<\/em>. In total, they have\u00a0provided\u00a0442,808\u00a0total\u00a0meals to the community\u00a0since March 16th<\/sup>, and received a lot of praise from the community and families picking up meals.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Cobb County Schools<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Bryant<\/figure><\/div>
\"Bryant<\/figure><\/div>
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Staff members at Cobb County Schools are hard at work making sure their students have weekly access to meals. On Mondays, they staff eight drive-thru feeding sites, utilizing two groups of staff members and volunteers from MUST Ministries to handle passing out educational materials and meal kits. In order to keep the risk of exposure lower, volunteers are responsible for interacting with parents and students while teachers and principals assist the volunteers. Nutrition coordinators and site managers coordinate with the nutrition staff in the cafeteria and kitchen to package the meal kits and pass them to the volunteers and staff out front. The meal kits consist of food items with a suggested schedule or menu for consuming the food items. On the back of the weekly suggested menu, things like safe food handling instructions, helpful tips, and item information are covered.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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We\u2019re so grateful to all of the amazing people who are hard at work finding new and innovative ways to feed hungry kids while schools are closed. Thank you for everything you do! #ThankAHungerHero<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Since the pandemic began, No Kid Hungry Georgia\u00a0has provided\u00a0$300,000<\/strong>\u00a0in emergency grants to support the work our hunger heroes are doing across the state. This month, we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Throughout May, we\u2019ll be celebrating and lifting up the amazing work that\u2019s been happening across the state by:\u00a0<\/p>