Cobb schools, MUST to provide student meals through June

New East Cobb Middle School

The joint effort between the Cobb County School District and MUST Ministries to provide student meals to those who need them will continue into the summer.

The district announced Friday that it would extend food distribution of weekday breakfasts and lunches that began in March, when schools were closed due to the Coronavirus crisis.

East Cobb Middle School is one of eight sites in the Cobb district that has been a pickup point for those student meals.

“What most people don’t know about distributing food to students is local taxpayer dollars aren’t spent on food for students, Federal dollars are. These eight sites were selected because they allow us to be reimbursed by the Federal government, many of our schools across Cobb don’t allow for that option,” Cobb schools chief operations officer Marc Smith said in a statement issued by the district.

Pre-K students, rising kindergartners, recent graduates under 18, and new students to the district are eligible to receive the food, which is handed out by MUST volunteers at the designated schools each Monday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The students must be present in order to receive the food.

More than 217,000 meals have been distributed thus far, according to the district, which estimates that another 225,000 meals will be provided the next couple of months.

While the Cobb schools summer vacation goes until Aug. 1, the school district’s fiscal year 2021 budget takes effect July 1.

Normally the district and Cobb school board would be working on the new fiscal year budget in April and May. However, they cannot because the Georgia legislative session was suspended before the state budget, including education funding appropriated to school districts, was finalized.

A date to resume the legislative session hasn’t been announced, but some leading lawmakers are suggesting mid-June at the earliest, when Georgia’s extended public health emergency is due to expire.