Food insecurity poses a threat to many Clarke County School District students’ ability to learn and stay healthy, but the community is lending support.
Athens Clarke-County children face a food insecurity rate of about 24%, according to Feeding America. Many Athenians living in poverty reside in food deserts -- areas in which food is less accessible.
“The beginning of food insecurity that people don’t think about it is because these children that I take care of, they do not have access to fresh fruit, they do not have access to fresh produce, they have access to more of the junk foods, and things that are a little bit more expensive,” Dr. Esho said.
That’s Dr. Kenny Esho, a Primary Care Pediatrician at Athens Neighborhood Health Center, speaking to WUGA last year. His patients commonly reside on Nellie B Avenue and in the Bethel Homes neighborhood, which are within walking distance from convenience stores, but not grocery stores. He says that a lack of nutritious foods leaves kids more vulnerable to health problems.
“Children that are food insecure are likely sicker, they recover from colds or illnesses a lot slower than other children, and they are quite frankly hospitalized more frequently than other children. And this can lead to lifelong consequences with their health, such as developmental delays, poor educational outcomes,” Dr. Esho said.
Soraia Santos-Felgenhauer is the Director of Family and Community Engagement in the CCSD, and she notes that learning can be challenging if a child is struggling to gain access to food.
“Food is one of our basic needs. We have to feed our bodies so our body can be ready to experience the world. That is one of the basic needs of a human being,” Santos-Felgenhauer said. “When you send a child to school hungry and you want a child to perform, how can that child perform if one of the basic needs are not met?”
Along with challenges related to education and physical health, food insecurity can weigh on mental health even in young kids.
“Adults don’t think about it, but children are in tune to what’s going on around them,” Dr. Esho said. “If they see that the refrigerator is always empty, or they are asking for certain things that their friends have at school, whether it’s an interesting snack or a packed lunch and they don’t have that, they get sad.”
All CCSD students receive free lunch due to the district’s participation in the Community Eligibility Provision. Since many students rely on getting breakfast and lunch from school, year-long solutions that extend food access beyond the school year are crucial to community efforts to address food insecurity.
The CCSD Family and Community Engagement department recently spearheaded a pop-up bus that brought food and clothing to areas of Athens in need of additional support, especially during the summer. Community School Organizer Omar Reid helped organize the event.
“It’s year-round. We’re gonna be there for you year-round,” Reid said. “That’s what our department is all about, that’s what Soraia is always trying to emphasize, is that we’re gonna make an imprint, and it’s gonna be a year-round thing, it never ends, and we’re gonna be there and be supportive.”
Santos-Felgenhauer says that her team works collaboratively with food banks, a local nonprofit ministry called the City of Refuge, and community members to identify their needs.
“It’s not about who is doing it, it’s about us doing it together to make sure that every child has a meal, and every child does not go hungry,” Santos-Felgenhauer said.
The CCSD also provides breakfast and lunch at summer school, as well as lunch sites open to all CCSD students at six elementary and middle school locations.
As the community continues to reach students as best they can, Dr. Esho says larger political changes would address root causes of food insecurity.
“One thing we can do on the local or a state level is make sure we have the Kroger’s, the Publix, and making sure that everyone has access to those locations,” Dr. Esho said.
For more information about accessible food in the district, see the links below.
https://www.clarke.k12.ga.us/Page/2224
