WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Classrooms and lunchrooms are empty for the summer, but that isn’t stopping Houston County Schools from bringing meals to a neighborhood near you.
“The meals are very effective to the kids -- a lot of them are hungry and may not have had a meal that day," Union Grove Missionary Church member and volunteer Henry Scott said.
Though the program just began earlier this week, Scott says he sees it makes the difference.
"I see that it is impacting them, every day they come in here they’re a little more excited. I’m looking at the finish line, we are doing this for seven weeks," he said.
Scott expects to see numbers double daily, but Meredith Potter, the district's Director of School Nutrition, says they’ve seen a drop in participants.
"We do expect to serve less meals this year compared to last year. More families are back at work, they’re not at home and were seeing a little decrease in our numbers already on day two," Potter said.
Last year, parents were able to get bulk meals, now meals have returned to a pre-pandemic daily schedule.
"Meals are served daily instead of weekly which does require out parents to visit the sites more often," she explained.
Providing six stops in Houston County neighborhoods and feeding kids 18 and under no matter their school, the district says they intend to feed as many children as possible.
"We're excited to feed kids in our community this summer as part of the school system. It's our mission to ensure that kids return to school ready to learn," Potter said.
The free program kicked off earlier this week. If you haven't had a chance to get your child a meal, it ends on July 22.
School pick-up locations are Warner Robins Middle School, Northside High, and Perry High. Children do not have to be present during the time of pickup.