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Athens-Clarke County is $12 million short of the funding needed to meet food needs. Georgia ranks 9th in the nation For food insecurity among the elderly.
As food insecurity continues to rise among residents in Athens-Clarke County, the University of Georgia Campus Kitchen strives to promote sustainable practices while meeting the growing needs of local residents.
Food insecurity, defined as a household not having enough money or resources to purchase the food it needs, is a prominent problem in Athens-Clarke County. Based on 2022 US Census Report29.6% of Athens' citizens are below the poverty lineThis means many people are facing rising prices for essential goods.
“They experience food insecurity for a variety of reasons,” Andy Bizgueria said. Campus Kitchen Program Coordinator. “They may not be able to drive, they may not be able to cook, and their income may be too low to consume as much nutritious food as they need.”
UGA's Campus Kitchen Hunger Relief Program receives grants from nonprofit organizations and the government. Food donations from grocery stores like Trader Joe's and Earth Fare Cook meals and deliver groceries to community service agencies.
The role of the campus kitchen in responding to local needs
Campus Kitchen partners with organizations such as the Athens Community Council on Aging (ACCA), a service organization that supports the needs of Athens' seniors. Currently, the campus kitchen is cooking home-cooked meals for 55 families introduced by the agency.
ACCA benefits from Campus Kitchen in many programs, including Turkeypalooza and Meals on Wheels, both of which target elderly households struggling with barriers such as income, transportation, or physical disability.
As the demand for food exceeds the supply, campus kitchens can help as needed. For example, because of the Meals on Wheel program and how funds are processed, some households can only be active customers for up to a year. However, if a household is no longer an ACCA customer, the organization will contact Campus Kitchen, which will then be able to serve the former customer with weekly deliveries.
“So we work with Campus Kitchen all year round. Turkey Palooza is a big annual event, but every week Campus Kitchen makes deliveries to customers all over the place. We deliver prepared meals and groceries to all our customers,” said Leslie Trier, ACCA’s Director of Programs and Services.
They’re a huge partner and they provide so much more than just us, but they’re one of our best partners,” she said.
Fighting food waste
Campus kitchens are distinguished by a focus on food sustainability responses to local food insecurity. Initiatives to meet immediate needs Dedication to promoting sustainable practices in food production and distribution.
According to the Environmental Protection Division, “Exceeding proportion of food waste 12%, equivalent to 800,000 tons per yearOf the waste dumped in Georgia's landfills. ” Waste causes air, water and soil pollution and can lead to the release of harmful chemicals and greenhouse gases into the environment. To reduce climate change and ecosystem degradation, we need to reduce waste.
Initiatives for food loss and environmental conservation
The first step Campus Kitchen takes in terms of sustainability is to reuse food from restaurants and grocery stores that would otherwise go to waste. They then provide meals and groceries to people in the community. In some cases, there may be leftover produce or food items. Campus Kitchen acknowledges that not everything can be used to make meals. Therefore, anything that cannot be used is guaranteed to be composted.
“[We’re] We are based at UGarden, an organic farm. So they use very environmentally friendly practices, such as spreading compost on the fields to cover the crops,” Bisgheria said.
Composting food benefits the environment by enriching the soil and ensuring that food is used in a beneficial and sustainable way.
“We make nutritious meals that include vegetables, proteins, starches, etc. That's a big part of how we're sustainable, but we compost, so it's It goes back to earth, and that's better than, say, ending up in a landfill, which is an anaerobic environment,” said volunteer Alex Ruano, who started volunteering at the campus kitchen in 2022.
Volunteer opportunities and volunteers are abundant in UGA's Campus Kitchen and the surrounding ACC community. The program has approximately 1,200 volunteers participating in the entire 2023 calendar year, and enrollment remains at a high level, Bisgheria said.
Currently, in the campus kitchen, 19,835 meals made from scratch and 4,952 shopping bags delivered To families led by elderly peopleaims to revolutionize sustainable food practices and continue to reduce food insecurity.
Kacie Geter is a senior at the University of Georgia majoring in Journalism and minoring in Fashion Merchandising.
