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Indivisible Cobb Targets Eliminating Student Meal Debt
Back to Press Releases
Feb 17, 2026
Contact: Paul Caplan (pcaplan1776@gmail.com)
​Donation to Sawyer Road Elementary Gives Assistance to Cobb Families in Need
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​Marietta, GA - After a full-year of vicious cuts to food assistance programs by the Trump administration, the number of children who can no longer access free/reduced rate lunches has grown.
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Of the 106,000+ students enrolled in Cobb County public schools, some 43% qualify for some form of financial assistance to pay for school lunches, according to a Georgia Department of Education’s 2023 analysis. At the same time, the growth in economic disparity and spiraling food costs are putting even more families at risk of not being able to provide a healthy diet for their children.
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The members of Indivisible Cobb have made it their mission to “Wipe Out Student Lunch Debt” and their ongoing fundraising efforts to aid Cobb County students receiving a nutritional meal regardless of their circumstances. Without exception and without shame.
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“Cobb County schools pride themselves on delivering above state average test scores and graduation rates,” said Stacey Parlotto, a member of Indivisible Cobb’s leadership team. “How can you expect students to focus with empty stomachs while bearing the shame of an empty luncheon tray?”
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To that end, Indivisible Cobb made its first donation of 2026, giving $1,100 designated to benefit the students attending Sawyer Road Elementary, which cleared the accumulated debt and established a fund to pay for future lunches for qualifying students. Funds were collected at meetings and events put on by Indivisible Cobb, as well as remotely via payment apps, from their member base of more than 4,000.
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The group plans to continue collecting money to help pay off school lunch debts and aims to donate to other Cobb County schools as well. This effort is in conjunction with Indivisible Cobb’s ongoing program of food collections coordinated with the East Cobb YMCA Hunger Relief Program, as well as recent efforts to distribute winter coats and other necessary clothing items to Cobb County’s vulnerable communities.
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“This donation to Sawyer Road elementary demonstrates how all of us can step up and mitigate the chainsaw this administration has taken to social programs desperately needed by so many families in Cobb County. We are calling on our community to rally together and support our neighbors,” Parlotto added.
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​From L to R — Tezella Cameaux, Assistant Principal, Sawyer Road Elementary; Fran Cameron, Indivisible Cobb; Daphne Park, Food Services Manager, Sawyer Road Elementary; Mary Hiatt, Indivisible Cobb; Jill Waldrip, Principal, Sawyer Road Elementary; Mark Hiatt, Indivisible Cobb.
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