A free grocery store inside a Georgia elementary school is doing more than helping families stock their kitchens. It also appears to be helping students return to the classroom.
At C.J. Hicks Elementary School in Conyers, the on-campus market offers fresh food and pantry staples at no cost, while school leaders say they have seen a major drop in student absences.
Here’s what to know
To address both food insecurity and chronic absenteeism, C.J. Hicks Elementary opened a grocery store inside the school. As FOX 5 Atlanta reported, families visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays, check in through the front office, and choose groceries to bring home.
Rather than functioning like a traditional pantry, the school’s setup lets families select items for themselves.
Parent Liaison Dana Cureton said some people view a pantry as “the low.” The market stocks produce, juice, dairy items, frozen foods, breakfast foods, pancake-on-a-stick items, and snacks.
Families can choose four vegetables, plus one frozen item, one dairy item, breakfast staples, juice, and snacks. In addition, a food bank visits the campus on the first and third Friday of each month, and 80 families receive take-home food every Friday for the weekend.
School records show gains across several attendance measures. Present days rose 26%, from 10,341 to 13,023, while unexcused absence days dropped 42%, from 999 to 583. Total absent days also fell 43%, declining from 1,286 to 733, and daily absences decreased 33%, from 67 to 45.
More background
Goodr and Kaiser Permanente sponsored the effort. Goodr representative Kristen Ward said the organizers evaluated social determinants of health and zeroed in on measures including absenteeism.
Across Georgia, chronic absenteeism is still a concern, though the numbers have improved. The statewide rate was 21.3% in the 2023-2024 school year and fell to 17.7% in the 2024-2025 school year.
Enrollment at the school increased 3%, rising from 785 to 810 students.
What’s being done?
Goodr representative Joyce Towner Williams said the goal is “making sure that they do have that access and that choice in their shopping with dignity when they do it.”
Across the U.S., Goodr operates 33 comparable stores, with some located in schools in Fulton County and DeKalb County.
Officials have not said whether more Georgia school districts will open free markets.
“When we pull up the stats, the last time that we were down about 43% from last year, because of since the grocery store has arrived,” said Principal Anthony Browning.
Where can I learn more?
Other school and community food-access efforts are tackling the same need in different ways.
• At one school, teachers and parents volunteer to collect leftover food for families.
• In Wisconsin, students grow food for their cafeteria in a hydroponic school garden.
• In Singapore, FairPrice expanded a free-produce program with neighbors volunteering to help.
• In the UK, Asda shoppers can buy $4 magic bags filled with surplus groceries.
• Shoppers using Flashfood can save big on groceries by buying marked-down store items.
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