The on-campus free grocery market at C.J. Hicks Elementary in Conyers offers choice-driven groceries to families on set days and has been linked to notable improvements in attendance. School records show present days rose 26% while total absent days fell 43% after the market opened. The initiative, sponsored by Goodr and Kaiser Permanente, was designed to address food insecurity and chronic absenteeism while preserving shopper dignity. Georgia's statewide chronic absenteeism rate also improved during the same period.
Free Grocery Market At Georgia Elementary Linked To 43% Drop In Student Absences
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A free, choice-driven grocery market inside C.J. Hicks Elementary School in Conyers, Georgia, is doing more than helping families stock their kitchens — school leaders say it has helped bring children back to class.
The on-campus market, open to families on Tuesdays and Thursdays, offers fresh produce and pantry staples at no cost. Families check in through the front office and choose the items they want to take home, a model the school says preserves dignity by allowing selection rather than handing out prepacked boxes.
The market's inventory includes produce, juice, dairy, frozen items, breakfast foods (including pancake-on-a-stick options) and snacks. Participating households may select four vegetables plus one frozen item, one dairy product, breakfast staples, juice and snacks. Additionally, a food bank visits the campus on the first and third Fridays of each month, and 80 families receive take-home food every Friday for the weekend.
School attendance records show sharp improvements after the market opened. Present days increased by 26%, rising from 10,341 to 13,023. Unexcused absence days fell 42%, from 999 to 583. Total absent days declined 43%, from 1,286 to 733, and average daily absences dropped 33%, from 67 to 45. Enrollment at C.J. Hicks rose by 3%, from 785 to 810 students, during the measured period.
"Some people view a pantry as the low," said Parent Liaison Dana Cureton, explaining why the choice-based market matters.
"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," Principal Anthony Browning said, noting the market's impact on attendance.
The program was sponsored by Goodr and Kaiser Permanente. Goodr, which operates 33 similar free stores across the United States (including locations in Fulton and DeKalb counties), says organizers targeted social determinants of health and specific measures like absenteeism when designing the initiative. Goodr representative Joyce Towner Williams emphasized the goal of ensuring families can shop "with dignity."
Broader Context
Chronic absenteeism remains a statewide concern, though Georgia's rate improved: it fell from 21.3% in 2023–24 to 17.7% in 2024–25. Other districts and community groups are trying different approaches to food access, including volunteer food-collection programs, school hydroponic gardens that grow food for cafeterias, supermarket-backed free-produce initiatives, and retail programs that sell surplus groceries at steep discounts.
What This Shows
The C.J. Hicks market provides a replicable example of how addressing food insecurity — while preserving choice and dignity — can coincide with meaningful improvements in student attendance. School officials have not yet announced whether additional Georgia districts will open similar on-campus markets, but the early results have drawn attention.
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