Athens service organizations are on a mission to feed those who need it and they’re looking for volunteers. In 2009, 36.3 percent of people in Athens-Clarke County were below the poverty level, which was more than double the rate for the entire state, according to the United States Census Bureau.

The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia

Photo by ANDREA BRISCOE

Cardboard boxes of canned beans, macaroni and cheese and other nonperishable foods fill the shelves of the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia’s warehouse; the never-ending chain of rooms is packed with food.

“We never know what we’re going to get or why we get it. We’re just grateful,” said Tina Laseter, development director.

Members of service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega volunteer at the food bank one Wednesday night a month. Between 15 and 20 people usually come out, said Robert Snipes, president of APO.

Along with APO, Becker said many fraternities and University athletic teams — “Coach Richt and the Bulldogs are wonderful supporters,” he mentions — volunteer at the food bank on Newton Bridge Road. Students sort cans and boxes of food, plant crops in a farm the food bank uses or even hold a fundraising event of their own to support the food bank. Becker also said students are welcome to think of “something creative to do.”

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread gives Athens a meal every day of the week, making it the go-to place for many homeless and working poor.

The organization on Oconee Street serves Athens residents in need, supplying breakfast and lunch on weekdays and sack meals on the weekends.

“We’re basically an open table,” said Erin Barger, program director of Action Ministries in Athens. “People can come and eat, and we don’t ask questions. We don’t ask for proof of income.”

Around 130 people – from the homeless to the working poor – typically come for each meal. Students can get together with friends or an organization to help plan and make a breakfast, lunch or sack meal.

Our Daily Bread provides more than food. Barger said it also is a “safety net that prevents homelessness” for those who make minimum wage and can’t pay every bill to support their families.

“The overall sentiment is that people would not have a place to eat if Daily Bread didn’t exist,” she said.

Campus Kitchens at UGA

Sarah Jackson, Campus Kitchens coordinator, was eating with organization volunteers in Subway on South Lumpkin Street and making plans for the non-profit. Jubel Smith, the manager of Subway, overheard the conversation and wanted to help.

“Whenever I can, I try to get involved with things like that,” Smith said.

Subway became one of many other restaurants and fraternity houses to donate leftover food to Campus Kitchens at UGA. The “student-powered” non-profit organization creates meals from the leftover food to distribute to members of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program, Jackson explains. Grandparents Raising Grandchildren serves grandparents who must act as parents for their grandchildren.

“It’s kind of a hub for professors and students alike to engage in food and hunger issues on a service and academic level,” Jackson said, “It’s really where the students want to take it.”

Campus Kitchens at UGA (above)

Who they serve: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Who to contact: Sarah Jackson, (706) 542-8924

Food Bank of Northeast Georgia

Who they serve: Northeast Georgia non-profit agencies for distribution to those in need
Who to contact: Main office,  (706) 354-8191

Our Daily Bread

Who they serve: homeless and the working poor, but no questions are asked of anyone
Who to contact: Erin Barger, (706) 353-7466