At a time when inflation is having a significant impact on the price of groceries, Amerigroup Georgia is stepping up to offer innovative community support by sponsoring a grocery store located inside Pointe South Middle School in Jonesboro. The store will serve as a sustainable, easily accessible solution for students and their families to shop for high quality, nutritious groceries at no cost, helping to bridge the gap between paychecks.

“Food insecurity has significant detrimental effects on health, especially in children, and can leave devastating, long-lasting impacts across communities, so it is critical we develop and implement resources for our neighbors who need them most,” said Mel Lindsey, President, Amerigroup Georgia. “This latest partnership with Goodr reflects Amerigroup’s ongoing support for strategic, innovative opportunities that address the health needs of some of some of our most vulnerable, underserved communities in Georgia.”

Sources estimate that roughly 1.1 million Georgians currently struggle with hunger. Of those, 360,000 are children. Hunger is known to affect not only a child’s daily school performance, but also their health and psychosocial behavior. Students with a healthy, balanced diet are more likely to have stronger immune systems, lower risk of diabetes and heart disease, and live longer. A healthy diet can boost brain function and improve mood to make learning optimal. The recent ending of supplemental pandemic-era SNAP benefits will likely cause those numbers to increase as the cost of everyday essentials continues to be high.

Goodr first teamed with Amerigroup to host a free Pop-Up Grocery Market in August of last year. The event provided 200 families with free groceries, including meat, fresh produce, shelf-stable items, eggs, bread, and more.

“Goodr is humbled to have the opportunity to provide this service to the students of Pointe South Middle School and their families thanks to Amerigroup,” says Founder and CEO Jasmine Crowe-Houston. “Children cannot be expected to perform at par in the classroom with an empty stomach, and teachers should be able to stand in front of a class full of kids who are at their best,” she adds. ”My mission is to chip away at this problem one school at a time until food access issues for children are a thing of the past.”

Goodr Grocery Stores are just one of the new and innovative ways in which the Atlanta-based sustainable waste management and hunger relief company is tackling the nation’s hunger crisis. The company has plans for twelve operational stores in U.S. cities by the end of the first quarter with plans to operate fifty by the end of 2023. Goodr also recently unveiled a mobile version of their Goodr Grocery Store in the form of a shoppable 26 ft. customized truck with which they can provide free grocery shopping with dignity to Georgia’s rural families and food deserts.

Amerigroup and Goodr celebrated the store’s grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that featured remarks from Goodr Founder and CEO, Jasmine Crowe-Houston, Amerigroup Georgia President Mel Lindsey, and Pointe South Middle School’s principal, Kimberly Grant.