POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — In Georgia, a staggering 1.1 million people are facing hunger right now. What's even more astounding -- more than 360,000 of those are children, according to Feeding America.
Hunger relief company Goodr is working to change that by giving hundreds of Cobb County students and their families access to free groceries.
The company opened its fifth store today at Tapp Middle School in Powder Springs, giving students and their families access to fresh fruit, vegetables, canned and frozen food.
The woman behind the effort, Jasmine Crowe-Houston, said it's all about giving students a chance to shop with dignity and providing families who are food insecure a way to fill the gap.
“Food right now is costing more than it has ever cost," Crowe-Houston explained. "And what Goodr is just trying to help families get by until their next pay check."
One middle school parent, Egyptian Howell-Proano, noted that she's seen students in her daughters school struggling and that this effort is life changing.
“Everyone should have the basic right to eat and function – especially as a kid in school," Howell-Proano said.
Howell-Proano's daughter, Amina Howell-Bland, is one of more than 900 students who attend Tapp. The middle schooler explained that she hates to see her friends struggling.
“You know how there’s a vending machine – they would take home goldfish and snacks for their brothers and sisters," Howell-Bland said.
Goodr opened their first Goodr Grocery Store in partnership with Grammy-nominated, platinum rap artist Gunna, in September of 2021. It opened at the site of his former middle school, Ronald E. McNair Middle School.
In January, Goodr followed up with an on-site store for residents at the Lutheran Towers senior living community in Midtown Atlanta. Last month, the company opened two of six planned stores in Denver Public Schools in partnership with Amazon and Aetna.