Barbara Barnett, a neighborhood leader for the Barrow Prosperity Zone, and volunteer Ed Michna deliver food from Mt. Olive Seventh-day Adventist Church to residents of Parkview Homes on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022 in Athens. Barnett serves approximately 15 residents, most of them elderly, on a weekly basis. Several churches throughout Athens help reduce food insecurity through home-delivery programs and food kitchens. Athens-Clarke County is considered to be a part of the USDA’s list of cities with low access to food or significant food insecurity. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 26.9 percent of Athenians live in poverty.
Carol Oliver, an Athens resident of almost 40 years, reviews her weekly box of food donations delivered by volunteers from Mt. Olive Seventh-day Adventist Church at Parkview Homes on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 in Athens. Oliver, who has been receiving food from Mt. Olive since 2021, experiences mobility issues and is without a vehicle. She, like many Athenians who experience food insecurity, depend upon food delivery services to meet daily nutrition needs. “They [Barbara Barnett and other food delivery volunteers] are my angels,” Oliver said. “I’m on fixed income. By the time you pay your bills, it's not enough to buy groceries with.” Oliver considers herself a “country girl” and loves collard greens and squash. She appreciates the large portions, such as a whole turkey breast, which allows her to have leftovers for days.
Athens-Clarke County is considered to be a part of the USDA’s list of cities with low access to food or significant food insecurity. Many seniors like Carol Oliver, who experiences mobility issues and is without a vehicle, depend upon food delivery services to get the daily nutrition they need. Without access to food delivery services, seniors are often left in vulnerable positions, having no choice but to walk or take the bus to the nearest grocery or convenience store, such as Dollar General, to meet their needs.
Angel Torres, husband to Esther Carrillo, helps distribute food outside his family’s home on Thursday, June 2, 2022 in Athens. Through their efforts, they help feed more than 30 families on a weekly basis. Many immigrants and people part of the Latino community who are food insure face additional barriers: language and transportation. Since the pandemic, there has been a rise in how many people signed up for the food donations program, "but the need for food has always existed," Torres said. In addition to the language barrier, transportation is an issue for a portion of the people Torres and his wife serve due to the fact that many in the immigrant community do not drive because they don’t have a license. Torres speculates that "maybe they never tried, or are afraid" to pick up the food themselves. Organizers within Dignidad Inmigrante en Athens are able to pick up food donations from local food banks and churches and get them into the hands of families who otherwise might not know how to access that food in the first place.
Since the pandemic, there has been a rise in how many people signed up for the food donations program, "but the need for food has always existed," Angel Torres said. In addition to the language barrier, transportation is an issue for a portion of the people Torres and his wife serve due to the fact that many in the immigrant community do not drive because they don’t have a license. Torres speculates that "maybe they never tried, or are afraid" to pick up the food themselves. Often the food donated to churches and food banks, such as canned soups, are not the kinds of food Latino people are used to, Torres explains. Carrillo tries her best to customize the food boxes with items people in her community will use and not go to waste. Organizers within Dignidad Inmigrante en Athens are able to pick up food donations from local food banks and churches and get them into the hands of families who otherwise might not know how to access that food in the first place.
Food Bank of Northeast Georgia Volunteer Coordinator Kalia Henry, left, Delivery and Donations Driver Shay Howard and WorkSource Georgia associate Mikayla Allen load up the delivery van with 24 bags of food for the Senior Brown Bag program, which distributes supplemental food bags at the beginning of each month directly to food-insecure seniors’ homes to help alleviate their daily threat of hunger.
Broderick Flanigan and others gather outside the Classic Center for a workers advocacy demonstration by the Economic Justice Coalition on Friday, March 4, 2022 in Athens. The Economic Justice Coalition aims to provide resources and strategies for workers' rights and labor policies and advocate for fair wages and better working conditions. “Food insecurity is a very complex issue,” Flanigan said. “What I've noticed, though, is that the food is good to meet people's immediate needs, but people need resources in terms of income . . .”
Broderick Flanigan, local artist and community activist, right, waters vegetables in Farm to Neighborhood’s community garden on Thursday, June 2, 2022 in Athens. The garden was established in 2018 and serves residents primarily in the Nellie B neighborhood and surrounding area in East Athens. The garden provides a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as snow peas, blue berries, basil, kale, squash, collard greens, tomatoes and okra, to residents where nutritious produce is not easily accessible.
Vanessa Raditz, a volunteer coordinator and mentor for the program’s interns, restocks the community fridge and pantry with produce from Farm to Neighborhood’s community garden on Thursday, June 1, 2022 in Athens. Raditz works in the garden with a food sovereignty perspective in mind, recognizing that often the less expensive, more accessible food that you find in mainstream grocery stores was grown due to the exploitation of workers, often immigrants or other minorities.