Metro Atlanta schools will offer meals and other services amid the coronavirus pandemic that has forced districts to close buildings and utilize online learning, saying that discontinuing meal service could mean some students go without food for an extended period.
“During this unprecedented time, there may be more families in need than just those who receive free and reduced lunches,” Cobb County Schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in a press release announcing a partnership with MUST Ministries to provide meals during the school building shutdown.
The district's food and nutrition services department will donate items to the nonprofit, which will then make meals available to area families. The schedule for meal pickup through MUST Ministries is not yet available, but should be posted on the group's website early next week, the district said.
Fulton County Schools will offer meals to be picked up at six school sites throughout the district Monday, Wednesday and Friday for all children under 18 or those under 21 with special needs. Children must be present for the meals to be provided. The district is partnering with the Atlanta Food Bank and other nonprofits to distribute meals for other family members.
Fulton locations are: Lake Forest Elementary School, 5920 Sandy Springs Circle in Sandy Springs; Tri-Cities High School, 2575 Harris Street in East Point; Mimosa Elementary School, 1550 Warsaw Road in Roswell; Banneker High School, 6015 Feldwood Road in College Park; Haynes Bridge Middle School, 10665 Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta; and Langston Hughes High School, 7510 Hall Road in Fairburn.
The district said in a statement that the sites were selected because they were centrally located and easy to reach.
Clayton County Schools will offer breakfast and lunch pickup at 10 school sites beginning Monday. Those eligible should be “18 or younger or individuals with a state-defined mental or physical disability.”
Meals will be available for pickup from 8 to 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mobile food pantries will be available March 20 at Forest Park Middle School, 930 Finley Drive in Forest Park, or at Riverdale Middle School, 400 Roberts Drive in Riverdale, on March 31 at 3 p.m. to support families during the building shutdown.
Non-emergency medical services will continue to be offered at the health center at North Clayton High School, at 1525 Norman Drive in Atlanta.
The DeKalb County School District will provide daily meal service beginning Monday where students will receive a free bagged lunch and snack at several sites around the district between 10 a.m. and noon.
Those sites are: Cross Keys High School, 1626 N. Druid Hills Road NE in Atlanta; Sequoyah Middle School, 3456 Aztec Road in Doraville; Idlewood Elementary School, 1484 Idlewood Road in Tucker; Lithonia High School, 2440 Phillips Road in Lithonia; Clarkston High School, 618 N. Indian Creek Drive in Clarkston; Chapel Hill Middle School, 3535 Dogwood Farms Road in Decatur; Bethune Middle School, 5200 Covington Highway in Decatur; McNair Middle School, 2190 Wallingford Drive in Decatur.
Forsyth County Schools will offer daily free meal pickup service at two Cumming schools — Sawnee Elementary School, 1616 Canton Highway and Whitlow Elementary School, 3655 Castleberry Road — from noon to 1 p.m. through March 20, for all public and private Forsyth County students up to 18 years old, and up to 21 years old for those with special needs. The district will announce plans for the following week once they decide whether schools continue to be closed.
Gwinnett County Schools will offer meal pickup at 68 sites and bus stops near the schools from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. through March 20 for children 18 and under. The district will announce plans for the following week once they decide whether schools continue to be closed.
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