It’s the first free grocery store in the county!
The City of Stonecrest has teamed up with Goodr, a food waste management nonprofit started by Jasmine Crowe, to open the first free grocery store for students in Dekalb County, Georgia, WSB-TV News reports. The store was opened at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in an effort to support students and families in need. The school of 1,400 students says their scholars are coming everyday to focus on their studies but many of them are facing urgent food insecurity issues, something the school stepped in to solve.
“It was a need and we’re filling th indeed,” Principal Michael Alexander told reporters.
Recently, they opened the “Lion’s Den Grocery” inside the high school on the last day of Black History Month. Stonecrest, Georgia Mayor Jazzmin Cobble said this will support the students learning and she’s happy to have helped make it happen.
“One thing we wanted to do to support our students was make sure the distractions in the classrooms are alleviated, one of which is hunger,” explained Cobble.
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Stonecrest and Goodr worked with students and their families to decide what they need, the grocery store offering fresh meat, produce, frozen food and canned goods. This is one of many free grocery stores Goodr has helped to open in the state, also opening a store in a senior community in Atlanta. The goal is to go where the need is and 11th grader Alex Pandy said it is a good thing that students are getting help at the school.
“It’s actually a really sad thing to see…[Now] they don’t have to worry about that anymore. It’s not a distraction, like, hey, I don’t know what I’m gonna eat tonight, or where. This bridges that gap,” said Pandy.
The school is going to start off serving between 25 to 50 families at the Lion’s Den Grocery, with the hopes of expanding to serve more soon
Cover photo: Dekalb High School Teams up With ‘Goodr’ to Open First Free Grocery Store for Students in County/Goodr representative Shalonda Young at Lion’s Den Grocery opening in Dekalb County’s Martin Luther King Jr. High School on Feb. 28, 2025/Photo credit: Natrice Miller/AJC News