Atlanta

Food bank partnering with school districts to feed families in need during coronavirus crisis

ATLANTA — Local school districts are getting help feeding families struggling because of the coronavirus.

Now, the Atlanta Community Food Bank is connecting families to food via text.

“Food banks have been working overtime. There are a lot of people in need in our community right now and we are just doing everything we can to get them the food that they need,’ said Kyle Waide, CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

The food bank has been feeding Georgians in need for nearly 40 years but Waide fears the economic impact of COVID-19 might be their biggest challenge yet.

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“We’ll partner with folks across the community to ensure that the folks we serve have a better chance to survive this and get back on their two feet."

Waide told Channel 2’s Dave Huddleston that the food bank is working with five local school districts delivering about a quarter of a million pounds of food to more than 20 school sites each week.

“The challenge in front of us is really humbling. We know people are facing just really difficult circumstances,” Waide said.

Waide said the biggest way you can support the food bank is donations

“It’s going to take a lot of resources for us to fully respond to all the challenges that families are facing, and we need the financial support of the community for us to do it,” Waide said.

If you want to find a food pantry near you, you can call 1-888-976-2232.

They’ve launched a new text messaging service at the same number to connect families with food pantries near them.

You can text “findfood” for English or “comida” for Spanish results.