Operation Feed Atlanta, a leading nonprofit committed to combating food insecurity within Atlanta Public Schools and the broader community, celebrates its fifth anniversary this month amid rapid expansion and demand for services as more local families continue to struggle with the effects of inflation and rising food prices.

Founded in 2020 during the aftermath of school closures sparked by the global pandemic, Operation Feed Atlanta began with a handful of volunteers passing out lunches to students at home who no longer had access to consistent daily meals. Since then, the organization has established a presence in more than two dozen schools across APS, distributing more than 40,000 bags of food since its inception in 2020.

Through its innovative programs, Operation Feed Atlanta has established food pantries in schools, distributed weekend snack bags, and provided emergency food assistance to families in crisis. By taking a long-term, relationship-based approach, Operation Feed Atlanta has built trust with school administrators, social workers, and the surrounding neighborhoods it serves.

A key differentiator in Operation Feed Atlanta's delivery model is the utilization of high school student volunteers as ambassadors. These young leaders help raise awareness, organize food drives, and engage their peers in the fight against hunger,  fostering a sense of civic responsibility and leadership among the next generation.

In addition, the organization is breaking new ground by collecting and analyzing real-time data on the individual needs of each school in the network.  This approach enables Operation Feed Atlanta to identify gaps while ensuring more campuses receive continual coverage, improving outcomes from traditional “one and done” campaigns, where schools may arbitrarily receive short-term help without implementing long-term solutions.

“Too many children in Atlanta do not know how or when they will get their next meal. This is a growing problem that requires fresh thinking and new solutions,” said Briana Summers, Board Chair of Operation Feed Atlanta. “We don't just want to provide a one-time donation; we want to be a reliable partner that can address the root causes of food insecurity and empower communities to thrive. Our team is using this fifth anniversary milestone as a call to action – individuals and organizations can donate, volunteer, or sponsor a snack bag build that will make a difference one child at a time.”

Operation Feed Atlanta will hold its final student-led packing event of the school year on May 21 at Trinity Anglican Church in West Midtown. The organization plans to distribute 600 take-home food bags for students heading out for the summer break. Operation Feed Atlanta is a designated partner agency with the Atlanta Community Food Bank and recently received a grant award totaling $5,000 from the Office of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

Operation Feed Atlanta and other community organizations standing in the gap for food insecurity will mark World Hunger Day on May 28. According to the USDA, more than 1.5 million Georgia residents (14.3% of the total population) lived in food-insecure households between 2021 and 2023. Another recent report from Hunger Free America found that more than 1.1 million Georgians did not have enough food to eat over two one-week periods in August/September 2024, a 67% spike from the same timeframe three years earlier.

To learn more about Operation Feed Atlanta and its mission, click here.