Heritage Elementary prepares ‘Meals-In-A-Bag’ for students ahead of holidays

Staff, churches and community partners helped triple Heritage Elementary’s planned holiday meal distribution.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) –The holiday season is quickly approaching, and Heritage Elementary School is making sure hunger doesn’t get in the way on the holidays giving away “Meals-In-A-Bag” to students in need. 

The family meal kits include ingredients and easy to follow recipe cards. These meal kits will ensure students are fed, focused, and ready to succeed. 

The kits include canned foods, turkey dinners and dumplings. Donations have come from staff members, local churches and the community. Principal Chip Horton says this idea came from several staff members.  

“What we have are meals in a bag, and it’s an opportunity for students who are in need to take a full meal home with them,” he said. “The meals are designed to feed a family of four; the recipes are in the bag, and all the ingredients are included. And we planned on feeding 50 families. However, with the community outpour, we’ve tripled that plus.”

Horton believes kids need to be properly fed to succeed.

“It’s very important that our kids come to school fed each day,” he said. “Because we don’t want hunger to get in the way of their behavior or their academic goals.”

Fourth grade teacherQuanya Pendleton-Sears says giving back is something she grew up doing.  

“It’s such an amazing feeling,” she said. “With my students, we have such a great relationship, I can read them like they are my own children. So, at 8 o’clock in the morning when they’re coming up the hallway, I can tell when something is wrong. And a lot of the time it’s ‘I didn’t get breakfast.’ So, I allow them to go in my stash and get something. However, it’s so many kids, I just did not have enough for all them. But with this, it’s an initiative where it can help us out where we can reach more kids.”

Schools secretary Lisa Johnson says these kits have helped so many families this holiday season.  

“It’s an amazing feeling,” she said. “It really is, because I look at our students and I know they’re going to be taken care of. And that is our ultimate goal is to make sure our babies are fed.”

The distribution of the kits will start on Thursday.