Food Insecurity in Athens throughout the Covid-19 pandemic
One Saturday, a woman in her late 50’s who had been out of work since the beginning of the pandemic went to a food distribution hosted by the Athens Community Council on Aging. After graciously receiving her food, the woman began sobbing because she “never thought she’d be in this position,” recalled Lancaster.
Stories like this are a common theme throughout Covid-19. Many people have found themselves needing assistance for the first time and have turned to several Athens resources for help.
Amy Lancaster, the director of communication at the Athens Community Council on Aging, said this recipient will stick with her forever. Lancaster became overwhelmed at how grateful the woman was and noted that, “stories like that make it very rewarding.”
Crates of food at the Athens Community Council on Aging
Lancaster hopes Covid-19 will help people be kinder to their neighbors and remember to never be embarrassed to ask for help.
“We hope the community is aware of the food insecurity issue, and I hope people continue to look out for each other,” she said.
Food insecurity across the United States has increased significantly throughout the Covid-19 pandemic with Feeding America estimating 42 million people will experience food-insecurity in 2021.
Bags of food at the Athens Community Council on Aging
The effects of Covid-19 and food insecurity were also seen locally with unemployment reaching 11.1% in April 2020 according to data by the Bureau of Labor statistics. With approximately 20,320 food insecure individual’s pre-pandemic and many people finding themselves food insecure for the first time the pressure was on for the local food banks to meet the demand.
Despite the struggles and the learning curves, the Athens community came together to ensure the residents were taken care of.
At the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, Tracey Massey highlighted how “they didn’t skip a bag” in their normal food services despite everything shutting down and being unable to have traditional volunteers. She also discussed people “who had never needed food before needing food,” and the initial confusion about how to access their services.
Massey said, the food bank saw a 40% increase in food need, forcing an expansion of many of its programs to keep up with this demand.
One program called Mobile Pantries fills food trucks with over 7700 meals and distributes them to Athens residents. The food bank hosted 35 mobile events a month because they are “covid-safe way to feed 350 people at one time,” said Massey.
Members of UGA Food 2 Kids, a student-run club at The University of Georgia, served as the primary volunteers for the mobile pantries since they could not volunteer in the actual building. The mobile pantries are a drive-thru style, so people just stay in their cars while the volunteers put the food in their car.
“We will stop anything to get the food out to people.” Massey said.
Massey said the initial lack of volunteers forced everyone to take on different roles and work hard to meet the food demand. She said the support and the way the Athens community has come together has been “wonderful to see.”
Basket of food packages at the Athens Community Council on Aging
The need for food in Athens grew substantially due to Covid-19.The Athens Community Council on Aging reported 70 % of the people they served through their program Athens Eats Together were receiving food assistance for the first time, said Lancaster.
This video further highlights the Athens Community Council on Aging’s efforts during Covid-19
Athens Eats Together is an initiative funded by the Athens-Clarke County government that the ACCA was given responsibility for due to their infrastructure with Meals on Wheels.
Lancaster started at the ACCA “the day they shut down.” She said that while she may not know what a day was like on-the-job pre-covid, she is “so grateful to be a part of this organization now.”
ACCA expanded its operations to serve all Athens residents and increased its food supply by 4000% during Covid-19 according to Lancaster. Lancaster said the government, “recognized how ACCA sprang into action, and therefore, gave [them] more responsibility through Athens Eats.”
An employee at the Athens Community Council on Aging
Participants will receive “commodity bags” of “shelf-stable food, said Lancaster. Athens Eats has also partnered with Epting Events and the Athens Farmers Market. With Epting Events, residents can go pick up frozen meals free of charge.
People at the Athens Farmer's Market
Another local organization fighting food-insecurity is Our Daily Bread. Our Daily Bread serves meals Monday through Friday to “anyone in need,” said Lora Smothers, the director of downtown life.
She said the biggest change due to Covid-19 has been a switch to drive through service from their “cafeteria style dining,” which they have done for 40 years.
Discussing food-insecurity in general, Smothers said, “food insecurity is inextricably linked to generational poverty stemming from gentrification in our city.”
All three organizations said they hope Covid-19 brings a greater understanding of people’s different circumstances. They also hope the community continues to rally together like it has throughout the pandemic.
For Lancaster, the hard work she puts in to serve this community is made easy by seeing the immediate impact her work has.
“It’s the appreciation when we spend hours and hours packing the bags and you see the families and their appreciation,” she said.
Similarly, Massey said, “I have a passion for the homeless and people on the street.” She noted one story where one homeless man expressed his gratitude for the food bank’s efforts during Covid-19 because otherwise “people like us, homeless people, wouldn’t get food like this.” She likes “letting people know [she is] there for them.”
Caroline Odom discusses her passion for the homeless community in Athens.
Covid-19 highlighted the food insecurity issue in Athens and allowed new programs that will continue to fight this issue once Covid-19 ends. Despite the increase in food insecurity, the resiliency of the organizations and people highlighted the community culture of Athens.
