Georgia House passes MUST Ministries-inspired sandwich bill

Both houses of the Georgia legislature have easily approved a bill by an East Cobb lawmaker that would allow non-profit organizations to make sandwiches in church and similar kitchens as part of their efforts to feed those in need.

The House on Monday passed SB 345, the so-called “Save Our Sandwich Bill” by a 150-12 vote, after passing the Senate 53-0 in March, before the legislative session was shut down due to COVID-19.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, an East Cobb Republican, changed a provision in state law that allowed only sandwiches that had been prepared in certified, licensed kitchens.

Sponsored in the House by Rep. Bart Reeves of Marietta, the bill still prohibits the distribution of sandwiches made in private homes.

(You can read the bill here.)

The bill will be sent to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature. The legislature, which returned to action Monday, still has to pass a state budget.

Last summer, right before its summer lunch program began, Cobb-based MUST Ministries was told by the Georgia Department of Public Health it could not distribute homemade sandwiches, even those that had been made for years in church kitchens, and by other civic organizations.

MUST scrambled to raise money to purchase sandwiches made in approved kitchens, and is doing the same this summer.

Since COVID-19 shut down schools in March, MUST has teamed up with the Cobb County School District to provide meals for students, and is continuing that program through the end of June.

MUST also is providing summer meal kits through July in East Cobb at Blackwell Elementary School (Mondays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church (Fridays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.).

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