Goodr’s free grocery store is increasing student participation at C.J. Hicks Elementary School.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Goodr, a sustainable food waste management company based in Atlanta, was founded by Jasmine Crowe-Houston and has opened several free grocery stores to support students and their families. These grocery stores have opened at a healthcare facility, a library, and several schools. Locations include Atlanta’s McNair Middle School, the Fairmount Heights Branch Library in Prince George’s County, MD, and C.J. Hicks Elementary School in Conyers, GA.
At C.J. Hicks Elementary School, the grocery store became available to the community in fall 2025 in partnership with Kaiser Permanente Georgia and Rockdale County Public Schools, according to information on LinkedIn. Offerings include fresh fruits, vegetables, juice, dairy items, breakfast selections, and snacks, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. Additionally, 80 families are selected to take food home every Friday. Joyce Towner Williams told the outlet the model is designed to ensure individuals can “have that access and that choice in their shopping with dignity when they do it.”
The grocery store has helped address absenteeism and hunger at the elementary school, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. By the numbers, absences fell 43% overall, from 1,286 to 733.
“When we pull up the stats, the last time we were down about 43% from last year [was] because of since the grocery store has arrived,” Principal Anthony Browning explained, per the outlet.
Daily absences decreased by 33%, from 67 to 45, while present days increased by 26%, from 10,341 to 13,023, according to school records cited by Fox 5 Atlanta. Unexcused absences decreased by 42%, from 999 to 583. Overall student enrollment also increased by 3% from 785 to 810.
“These are meaningful indicators for the C.J. Hicks community and underscore the importance of addressing social drivers of health as part of a broader approach to student and community well-being,” Kaiser Permanente Georgia wrote on LinkedIn. “These encouraging results underscore the powerful link between food access and educational success. Addressing nutritional needs is an essential investment in the health, growth, and potential of our youth.”