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Baldwin County schools feed families, inform parents

The district's joint food drive with Middle Georgia Community Food Bank fed more than 250 families.

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Hundreds of bags full of meat, non-perishables and fruit found their way out of the door on Thursday during the Baldwin County School District and Middle Georgia Community Food Bank's food giveaway.

The district wanted to give food away right before spring break to help families that have students that may not eat a meal outside of breakfast and dinner at school.

"Many of our students may experience not being able to have 3 meals a day," said Noris Price, superintendent of Baldwin County Schools.

Much of Baldwin County is "food insecure," or lacks access to consistent reliable meals due to a number of reasons including transportation, health, and low income.

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"They don't have a way to get there, and therefore, they only have access to a convenience store or a gas station in order to buy something to eat," Price said.

More than 60 volunteers from community organizations like the Rotary Club of Milledgeville, Milledgeville Teen Challenge Academy, and Baldwin County Beta Club were on hand. Georgia College senior Brie Martino said living in Milledgeville has made her aware of her own food privilege.

"I definitely feel more lucky and blessed to be able to have meals on my table every week and have all kinds of foods to cook with," Martino said.

Before they could grab a bag of food, parents with kids in the school district had to participate in at least two of three stations set up by the county. The stations focused on on food nutrition, understanding upcoming test information, and tools to keep up with their child's grades.

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Price said more informed parents lead to more successful students.

"So if we're able to build the capacity of our parents to better support their children at home, that puts us in a place to truly provide a high quality education to all of our students," Price said.

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