On November 9, the Griffin-Spalding Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon Cutting at Jackson Road Elementary to celebrate the completion of a new ramp for the Spalding Collaborative Backpack Food for Kids program.
The Spalding Collaborative Backpack Food for Kids program serves 500 Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) students across eight elementary schools. The program assists students who experience food insecurity by sending home bags of ready-to-eat food items for the weekends. GSCS teachers help identify students that could benefit from the program and their parent/guardian gives permission for them to participate. Volunteers from the community work together each week to pack the bags of food and deliver them to the schools.
As a community service project, the Caterpillar African-American Network (CAAN) constructed the new ramp and dedicated it to the families supported by the Backpack Food for Kids Program. CAAN also supplied shelving to help better organize the food items and needed supplies. The supplies, shelves and ramp will make it easier each week for the volunteers to assemble and deliver the food bags.
“On behalf of the board of education, students and staff, we appreciate the support of our community. I would like to offer special thanks to the Spalding Collaborative, Caterpillar African American Network and all of the volunteers that help with this weekly program to support our students,” stated GSCS Superintendent Dr. Keith Simmons.