School district opens food pantry sites to help families in need

The Cobb County School District will open 29 sites to the public to distribute food to families in need.

MUST Ministries will operate the sites, which are housed at its existing Neighborhood Pantry locations in the school district. The sites will begin operating today. Food pantry sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Friday.

Cobb County school nutrition employees will stock pantries with food normally served to students during lunch, including fresh milk, juice and produce, the school district said.

Food boxes will be available only through curbside pickup, and will have enough food to last families for two weeks. This means families will not need to visit the pantries every day, Cobb County schools said.

“We are grateful to have access to the food in our 29 Cobb County Schools pantries and be able to establish a base for distribution,” MUST President and CEO Dr. Ike Reighard said. “Hungry families from throughout the county — even if their students attend a school without a pantry — will be welcomed to pick up a food box to last about two weeks.”

Marietta C ity Schools employees are delivering lunch and snacks to students at 81 stops on 18 different routes throughout the district. The meals will be delivered to each location at the times posted on its website Monday through Friday, continuing until school is back in session.

MUST Ministries is also seeking volunteers and donations for its joint efforts with Cobb schools. Donations can be contributed by visiting the charity’s website at mustministries.org.

If you’d rather get directly involved with the effort, you can fill boxes of non-perishable food items and drop them off at MUST’s donation center at 1280 Cobb Park- way North from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Saturday. Food items needed include beef stew, canned vegetables, dry milk, pinto or baked beans, dry pasta, canned soup and tuna. You can also contribute to families in need by donating to the Cobb Schools Foundation. Visit its website at cobbschoolsfoundation.org for more details.