Golden Harvest Expands School-Year Food Program as More Georgia Kids Go Hungry

The backpack program at Golden Harvest Food Bank has extended into the school year to meet rising child hunger needs in Georgia. Recent data shows that a quarter of the state's children lack sufficient food at home.

Priscilla Elliott, who works in public affairs at Golden Harvest, shared stark statistics with WRDW/WAGT. "Child food insecurity numbers are high now, they're the highest that they've been in about 15 years," she said.

The situation varies by location. Richmond County reports one-third of children face food shortages. In Hancock County, half the children there don't get enough to eat, marking the nation's worst rate.

School meal programs help, but fall short for many kids. Elliott stressed to WRDW/WAGT, "Hunger is an all-the-time thing. It doesn't go away, and we have students over the school year that experience hunger as well. So we created the backpack program."

School staff watch for signs of need and pass out food packs filled with easy-to-eat items. Students can slip these snacks into their bags without drawing attention.