As food prices climb and government assistance programs are reduced, more families are feeling the pinchespecially during the summer months when school meals are no longer available.
In Decatur County, a weekly summer feeding program is making a big difference for families in need. Decatur County Schools summer feeding program, Happy Helpings, provides weekly meal boxes to help families facing food insecurity while school is out. Meal distribution sites include the Board of Education, Hutto Elementary, Attapulgus, and Bainbridge High School, with all meals typically claimed each week. Watch the story to hear from a local grandmother who says this program is easing the burden of feeding children during the summer months.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“Food stamps got cut off. It was just a God send for this food to be here now,” said Deborah Freeman, a grandmother and longtime social worker who spent over four decades serving her community.
Freeman, who has grandchildren and great-grandchildren, says the Happy Helpings programrun by Decatur County Schools in partnership with Second Harvestis providing critical support during the summer break.
“It’s very difficult,” Freeman said. “I worked in this county for 43 years. I saw the poverty that exists in our county… Grandma always has to fill in the gap.”
The summer feeding initiative aims to fill that gap by distributing boxes of nutritious, ready-to-eat meals to children across several locations in the county. Each box contains five breakfasts and five lunches. The program runs every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., or until supplies run out.
According to Nita Floyd, Director of School Nutrition for Decatur County Schools, demand for the program is high.
“Each week we have no meals left over. They’re all taken,” Floyd said. “We feed during the school year, and they know their child is getting a meal. During the summer, with them being home, sometimes they don’t have it.”
The meals are distributed at multiple sites:
Decatur County Board of Education: 150 meals Hutto Elementary: 200 meals Attapulgus site: 50 meals Bainbridge High School: 150 meals
While previous summer feeding programs required children to eat on-site, this years approach allows parents to take meals homean adjustment made after summer school was suspended due to budget cuts.
Families are encouraged to bring their children to pick up meals. However, parents who cannot bring their children can fill out a form to collect the meals on their behalf.
Freeman says the help couldnt have come at a better time.
“This is an area where our families [and] parents make low wages, and every little bit helps,” she said.
The last day for families to take advantage of this free meal giveaway will be July 22. Find out more about the program here.
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