The 2nd annual School Food Drive for Hunger Challenge got underway last week and will continue through Nov. 10 as eleven schools in Hall County compete to help fight hunger in the community.
This year's campaign is a partnership between the Georgia Mountain Food Bank and Smile Doctors Braces by Wilson Orthodontics and is timed to help GMFB go into the holiday season strong and well stocked to meet the increased demand for food.
“The holiday season can bring even tougher times for families as kids are out of school and not receiving free meals,” said Kay Blackstock, executive director at GMFB. “Unfortunately for many, the holidays are not a festive time, but a time of intense stress.”
Many children in the school systems are faced with the uncertainty of not knowing where they will find their next meal or if one will come at all. In fact, one in four Georgia children live in food insecure households with nearly 60 percent of Georgia’s public school students eligible for either a free or reduced lunch each day.
“Community food drives are critical to our mission of helping to get food into the hands of families and individuals in need,” said Blackstock. “It takes the entire community working together to consistently provide food to the food insecure in our area, and we are thankful for groups like these who step up to help us fight this silent epidemic affecting so many families in our neighborhoods.”
The school that collects the highest number of total pounds of food will receive the coveted Champions Bowl and a Kona Ice party, provided by Smile Doctors Braces by Wilson Orthodontics. Results will be announced the week following the completion of the food drive challenge.
Participating schools include:
Chestnut Mountain Creative School of Inquiry
East Hall Middle School
Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy
Flowery Branch High
Gainesville Middle
Lanier Elementary
Mount Vernon Exploratory
Sardis Enrichment
Spout Springs School of Enrichment
West Hall High
World Language Academy
“The collective impact of food drives is a powerful way to make a meaningful difference in the lives of so many in our community,” said Ron Wilson, DMD. “We are hopeful that through our partnership with the Food Bank on this school food drive challenge that we not only help raise awareness of the real issue of hunger in our community but also bring people together for a common goal of helping our neighbors in need.”
