COBB COUNTY, Ga. — More than 270,000 hungry children got to eat this summer because of the MUST Ministries lunch program ... but it almost didn't happen.
Just a week before Georgia kids went on summer vacation, the health department halted the program - saying the way they've run it for 23 years was a violation of the health code.
The program said the new rules came after a volunteer complained to the health department. So, instead of relying on volunteers to make and donate homemade sandwiches, they had to change everything to make sure these kids got fed.
They had no idea how they were going to serve the children who have come to depend on those meals. But they told 11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross that even though they're limping to the finish line, they were going to do whatever it took to feed these kids.
And it wasn't just about the food for the kids who get the sandwiches, it's the thought that goes in to making them - the love these volunteers have for their neighbors.
"The kids are so thoughtful about the little things that are done," said MUST Ministries President and CEO Ike Reighard. "We have volunteers who take crayons and color the lunch sacks. And then the kids take those lunch sacks and trade them amongst each other like they're famous baseball players or something."
"We've even been in to some of the homes, and the children will have the sacks up on the wall - that's their artwork," he added.
While it's their art, it's also often the only thing they have to eat that day.
In the seven counties MUST Ministries serve, they say there are 7,000 kids a day that don't have food on their plate.
"For these kids, it's an acknowledgement that there are people who care, you're not invisible, we are going to make sure you eat," Reighard said.
So when the health department told MUST Ministries they couldn't use those homemade sandwiches anymore, they didn't know what they were doing to do.
"It scared us to death quite honestly. But the outpouring of support has been amazing," he said.
RELATED: MUST Ministries says they can no longer accept homemade sandwiches for summer lunch program
They ended up buying pre-made sandwiches for 74 cents a pop. Then, volunteers bagged those sandwiches with pre-packed snacks for the kids.
It ended up costing the ministry almost a quarter million dollars to do it. Now, they're hoping to figure out a fix before next summer.
"One of the most amazing things has been that I've had people from across the aisle - whether you're a Republican, or whether you're a Democrat - everybody is concerned about children," Reighard said. "So everyone has been looking at this from different political parties, saying, we want to help you."
The health department said they were only enforcing state law, so the law would have to change. If legislators can't get a bill drafted, Reighard said MUST Ministries will try and certify their kitchen so it complies with state law, and they can make the sandwiches themselves.
"We are here to serve our neighbors in need, and sometimes our neighbors are three feet tall," he said.
The good thing is they now have 11 months to plan for next summer, so no matter how they do it, they'll be more prepared to help feed those kids.
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