ALBANY, GA (WALB) - State School Superintendent Richard Woods recognized the Dougherty County School System for combating hunger through a new initiative.
Helping Hands Ending Hunger is a non-profit program that is currently in 26 schools across the state, and 10 of those are elementary and middle schools in Dougherty County.
The goal is to help combat children going hungry on the weekends-- when they don’t know when they may get their next meal.
Students donate leftovers from their pre-paid breakfast and lunch to be stored for the remainder of the week until students in need can take home a bag of items.
Statistics from the Georgia Food Bank show a quarter of Georgia children go hungry, a rate that’s higher than average.
“We have a need throughout Georgia of meeting nutrition needs of our students throughout the state,” explained Richard Woods, “But yet also realizing we throw a lot of food away within in our schools. Food that is perfectly good but because of bureaucratic regulations in the past, we had to throw it away-- when it could have been better used to serve the needs of our kids.”
Helping Hands Ending Hunger Program Administrator Cathy Revell was also honored as a hunger hero for implementing the program in 10 schools across the county.
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