COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County Schools and MUST Ministries have opened 29 food families to the public as schools close amid the coronavirus outbreak.
MUST Ministries began operating the food pantries inside the school district’s schools on Wednesday to distribute boxes of food to families in need.
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FOOD PANTRY HOURS:
- South Cobb area pantries will open Wednesday, March 18 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
- West area pantries will open Thursday, March 19 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
- North/ East Cobb and Smyrna pantries will be open Friday, March 20 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Cobb Schools Food and Nutrition Services personnel will help stock the pantries with items that would otherwise be served to students in schools at lunch. The available food items include perishables like fresh milk, juice and produce that families usually cannot get as easily through a food pantry.
To help “flatten the curve” and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the food boxes will only be available for curbside pickup. Because the food boxes include enough food for an entire family, for two weeks, not just students, families do not need to go to a location every day to pick up items.
The food pantry food boxes are designed to operate once every two weeks, which will further decrease the spread of germs.
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“We are grateful to have access to the food in our 29 Cobb County Schools pantries and be able to establish a base for distribution. Hungry families from throughout the county, even if their students attend a school without a pantry, will be welcomed to pick up a food box to last about two weeks,” said Dr. Ike Reighard, MUST Ministries President and CEO.
“The MUST team has been working virtually around the clock to collect food and fill family food boxes for distribution for at-risk students and their families. The outpouring of concern for the children has led to food donations, financial donations to purchase food, and a list of volunteers who want to help… but much more food is needed. How gratifying to know we live in such a caring community,” Reighard said.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
One way the community can help is by helping fill food boxes and bringing them to the Donation Center at 1280 Cobb Parkway North, Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. If groups and individuals donate the filled boxes, it will greatly help MUST’s efforts to feed more at-risk children and their families.