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Recently, the Troup County School System approved a food truck purchase using a grant and CARES funding. We admit, when we first heard that the school system was interested in a food truck, we were a little surprised.

However, when the reason was presented — and the cost broken down — it made sense as a creative way to help feed students who may go hungry otherwise.

The 18-foot food truck, a 2020 Ford F59, will be purchased from Vending Trucks for a total $165,855 and will  be paid for by an $80,000 No Kids Hungry grant and $85,555 in CARES funding.

According to Feeding America, in Troup County an average of 22 percent of children under the age of 18 (pre-pandemic) were facing food insecurity.

We know that number has probably risen since due to families losing jobs and income.

There are countless kids in our own community who have a lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.

The idea for a food truck started last spring when school shut down. TCSS quickly scrambled to ensure students would still receive meals during the shutdown and gave out thousands of meals each day.

Now, the school is taking it a step further because they know they probably aren’t reaching the entire community of children.

No child in our community should have to worry about where their next meal comes from. School is sometimes the only place a student gets to eat.

Although we know this won’t eradicate food insecurity 100 percent in our community, we know it will make a major impact on students who need it most.

The purpose of the truck will be to provide meals in rural areas, especially students who are still in virtual classes that don’t have access to a meal.

The truck will support TCSS’ summer meal program, but will also be used for field days or if there was a water main break or another issue that would normally shut down a lunchroom.

We are thankful the school system saw the need and made a point to be there for its students.

We are grateful for the school system stepping up and showing it cares about the well-being of its students both on campus and off.

This is a creative way to try to help a longtime problem.