AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – School’s almost out for summer break, which means low-income families who rely on the school to feed their kids two a day will now have to figure out how to give them three.

In many states, these families can get help from the federal government paying for their groceries over the summer.

But not in Georgia and South Carolina, which opted out of continuing the summer EBT program.

That’s why LaDonna Doleman at the Master’s Table Soup Kitchen says she is worried about what this summer is going to look like.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said no earlier this year to continuing the summer EBT program. He said the program lacks basic nutrition requirements and can’t be sustained.

“That was a COVID-related benefit, extra,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said. “We’ve got to get back to doing normal business. We can’t be doing that forever.”

The program provides these low-income families with around $350 to $450 that is spread across three months.

Master’s Kitchen is already serving nearly 10,000 trays a month. But once school is out, she expects the numbers to at least double, but she’s afraid they may actually triple.  

The summer months are already hard on Golden Harvest Food Bank, which operates the soup kitchen. But this year, the problem is expected to be worse, and the food bank is calling on anyone who can lend a helping hand.

How can you help?

One way to help will come this weekend, during the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

On Saturday, letter carriers will collect non-perishable food donations from residents nationwide to help combat food insecurity and provide food items to those in need.

Letter carriers will collect the donations as they deliver mail along their usual routes.

All donations accepted locally will be distributed by Golden Harvest Food Bank and its partner agencies across its 25-county service area.

“In the battle against hunger, unity is our greatest strength,” said Amy Breitmann, president and CEO of Golden Harvest. “Partnering with the NALC through the Stamp Out Hunger food drive each year reaffirms our dedication to our families in need and amplifies our commitment to making sure no one in our community goes hungry.”

The Stamp Out Hunger campaign has collected over 1.9 billion pounds of food for families experiencing food insecurity locally and nationwide since it was first held in 1983.

For more information on recommended food items to donate visit https://goldenharvest.org/donate-food/what-to-donate/.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A vehicle caught on fire causing unknown injuries on Bobby Jones Expressway early Monday morning, according to authorities.

Richmond County dispatch says deputies were on the scene as of 7:28 a.m. on Bobby Jones Expressway at the Peach Orchard Road exit.

Dispatch says fire crews were on the way, and that there are unknown injuries at this time.

According to Georgia Department of Transportation, two of the three east bound lanes were blocked, with an anticipated end time of 8 a.m.

Traffic was backed up almost all the way to the Deans Bridge Road exit.

We got a video tip from a viewer of the accident.

We passed on ambulance just before we arrived on scene at 8:05 a.m., and the scene was cleared.

We have reached out to learn more.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A new stop has been added to the James Brown tour in Augusta.

It’s the first house his family lived in that James Brown bought for his father when they came back to Augusta. This, before moving to Walton Way and then over to Beech Island.

But this is a piece of history you can go inside; the family wanting to share a piece of their history with the world.

Walking inside is like you’re taking a step back in time.

“You’re not just standing in a home. This is history that happened in this home, and then a lot of the homes around here,” said Dr. Yamma Brown, James Brown’s daughter.

But the memories still feel fresh, almost everyone in James Brown’s family has memories here on Parkway Drive.

“From the late 60s all the way up until the 2000s at some point in time, somebody in our family was living in this home, and we were coming in and out of this home. So there are a ton of memories. Some we will say, some we will not,” said Dr. Deanna Brown Thomas, James Brown’s daughter.

And the history goes beyond the doors of the home.

“This is a home from the 60s, in an area that was not black, it was predominantly Caucasian. And so you have African American family that’s living here. And then not only my dad, but my grandfather, this being my grandfather’s home, coming from, you know, being like having nothing,” said Dr. Yamma Brown.

Some fans have been on the tour before and came back to be a part of the first tour allowed inside the space.

“I used to write letters to the editor for James Brown Boulevard being to be changed James Brown Boulevard. I used to send him birthday announcements in the newspaper. I used to send him Father’s Day gifts. All kinds of stuff. I was really into James brown, ”said Patrick Brissey, a James Brown fan.

Now it will hold even more memories outside of James Brown’s family.

“He would call me school boy…when he would see me. Now I listened to all the things that he did about education and so I got a PhD later on. I told him when I first met him, I was going to keep soul alive and he just busted out laughing. And so now I argue for the existence of a soul. And so it’s kind of cool to see keep the soul alive and that sort of thing,” he said.

For more information on taking the James Brown tour in Augusta, click here.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.