Rockdale County’s C.J. Hicks Elementary School opens on-campus, grocery store to assist students

 ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA– C.J. Hicks Elementary School celebrated a special project this week: The school opened an on-campus grocery store to help students and their families—at no charge. 

The elementary school and Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS), in partnership with Kaiser Permanente and Goodr, teamed up on the project to address food insecurity, which many families locally and across the nation are facing—barriers that  impact attendance, engagement and academic success.  

The Kaiser Permanente / Goodr Grocery Store officially opened following a ribbon-cutting ceremony that was held on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at the school. The store will serve approximately 200 families each month, offering fresh produce, frozen and shelf-stable foods, and essential household items at no cost.

School leaders and community partners gathered to mark the milestone project, which was about a year in the making, underscoring a shared commitment to student success, family stability, and long-term community health. 

Sandra Jackson-Lett, Rockdale County Board of Education Chairwoman, noted at the ribbon cutting, “Our schools are the heart of our community, and today we strengthen that heartbeat. This grocery store is a reminder that education is not just about textbooks and tests, but about caring for the whole child and the whole family. It’s about ensuring that no student goes hungry, and every parent feels supported.”

“Meeting students’ needs goes far beyond the classroom,” said Anthony Browning, PhD, principal of C.J. Hicks Elementary. “When families have reliable access to healthy food, children are better prepared to learn, grow, and thrive. This grocery store represents what’s possible when schools and community partners come together with intention.”

RCPS Superintendent Shirley Chesser echoed the deep appreciation of partners Kaiser Permanente and Goodr. 

“With your help, our schools will continue to be the centers of learning and centers of hope, health, and community,” Chesser said.

Dr. Ruth Herndon and Aundre Stanton with Kaiser Permanente Community Health said:”Our job as servant leaders is to mitigate as many barriers as possible for our youth to be successful. We are fueling our future with the opening of this Kaiser Permanente Goodr store located at C.J. Hicks Elementary.”

Georgia continues to face food insecurity rates higher than the national average, with many families in Rockdale County living in areas with limited access to affordable, healthy groceries. Locating the store directly on school grounds removes transportation and cost barriers while providing families with dignified, predictable access to food.

Kaiser Permanente supported the project as part of its broader focus on community health and prevention, while Goodr designed and operates the grocery model.

“This store is about more than food. It’s about respect, trust, and showing up consistently for families,” said Jasmine Crowe-Houston, founder and CEO of Goodr. “When schools, health care organizations, and community partners work together, we can create solutions that don’t just address hunger today but help build healthier futures for children and their families.”

Crowe-Houston spoke about her experience working at food banks, assembling donated items. “One of the things that was missing was dignity. I was putting these food boxes together and the entire time I’m thinking what kind of meals would these families make – with a gallon of barbecue sauce and ramen noodles and superhero shaped macaroni? When you take away someone’s choice, you take away their dignity.

“We believe hunger is not an issue of scarcity, it really is a matter of logistics. We are living in a country where we waste 40% of all the food we produce. It’s not about we need to grow and produce more food, it’s about how do we redirect excess food?”

Crowe-Houston pointed out one in six people do not live within a half mile of a grocery store to access fresh produce and groceries, and not being able to access to fresh produce and meats shortens life expectancy.

“My idea to bring a grocery store into the school was rooted in that,” she said. “Children were already coming to school every day. Sometimes they were traveling on buses. If we can put food in a school, now these families would have access to get the food home through the children.”

The store at C.J. Hicks Elementary is the 31st Goodr grocery to open since 2021.

“It is about that dignity first,” said Crowe-Houston. “About not putting food in a box, making sure we have families that have options and we give them those options. That if they are allergic to milk, if they don’t eat a certain meat, they have the opportunity to choose what will work for them.”

Following the ceremony, attendees toured the new grocery space and met with staff and partners who will help operate the program throughout the school year.

Dana Cureton, project organizer and office clerk at C.J. Hicks, said she felt incredibly blessed.  

“I’m grateful it happened at C.J. Hicks and in Rockdale,” Cureton said.

This initiative aligns with district-wide efforts to support whole-child outcomes by addressing barriers that impact attendance, engagement, and academic success. RCPS is in the second year under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of providing no-cost school meals, including breakfast and lunch, for all students. Families no longer need to submit a Free/Reduced Meals application.