First Lady Sandra Deal, DeKalb ICEO Lee May kick off Georgia summer meals program

Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal joined Interim CEO Lee May and Commissioner Jeff Rader and other state leaders to kick off the Georgia Summer Meals at Mason Mill Park in Decatur.

The statewide program provides meals to youth during the summer.

“When hunger enters their lives, it begins to interrupt the purity of this moment in their lives,” said Interim CEO May. “Today, this collaboration is something that warms my heart. Today you all really reflect the fact that we have decided in Georgia to come together to solve this problem.”

“In DeKalb County, we delivered over 210,000 meals in 2015,” Interim CEO May said. “And each year we want to go above and beyond the year before.”

DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Affairs joined the Georgia Food Bank Association, GA DECAL, Bright from the Start and the Georgia Department of Education: School Nutrition Department for the recognition of the Georgia Summer Meals Program.

Interim CEO May and First Lady Deal served meals to youth during the kickoff program.

“I’m so proud of DeKalb County…for doing this for our young people in this particular county, but it’s going on all over our state and we are so grateful to all the many agencies that are helping,” First Lady Deal said.

Each summer in Georgia, the number of children that participate in the summer meals programs is significantly lower than those who participate in free and reduced meals through the nutritional school lunch program during the school year. In 2015, only 15 percent of eligible Georgia children participated in the United States Department of Agricultural Summer Feeding Programs available to them.

For more information, please contact LaShanda Davis, Public Education Specialist, at (404) 371-3643.

For more photos from this event, visit the DeKalb County Facebook page.