Food Health Organizations Social Issue 

Athens organizations combat food insecurity with healthier options

ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY –– According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 34 percent of Athens-Clarke County residents are living in poverty, resulting in many families lacking access to nutritious and affordable food options. Living in poverty doesn’t imply food insecurity, though, as poverty is measured using an annual income threshold, whereas food insecurity is measured based on reliable access to food. While Athens-Clarke County has a poverty rate of over 30 percent, 22 percent of Athens residents are food insecure, according to 2019 County Health Rankings. Local food provision organizations such as Food2Kids,…

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Education 

Reuse Store Saves Teachers Hundreds in Impoverished Communities

ATHENS, Ga. — Athens-Clarke County Recycling Division seeks to reduce the cost of school supplies for public school teachers through its Teacher Reuse Store, a facility that offers recycled school materials to local teachers for free. The store, now in its thirteenth year, is housed in the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials, and is now open three times a week. “In the first year, we collected over eight tons of material,” Stacee Farrell, executive director of Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful and leader of the team that managed the reuse…

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Community Education Government News Organizations Uncategorized 

Poverty and Immigration Policy May Hurt Hispanic Education in Athens

ATHENS, GEORGIA— According to national studies and local experts in Athens, outside factors in 2017 may contribute to the continued education gap that has afflicted Hispanic-American students, especially those born into immigrant families. The Pew Research Center reports that the national percentage of Latinx children born to immigrant parents now accounts for less than half of the U.S. born Latinx population. Although the number of U.S. born Latinx children born to immigrant parents is decreasing, another report shows that only 77 percent of Hispanic students graduate from high-school. According to Susan…

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News 

Athens’ Homeless Rates Drop, But Root Causes Remain

The Reality of Homeless Rates Despite the collaborative shelter and service relief efforts, Athens, Georgia has just 17 fewer homeless in 2016 due to the difficulty in addressing homelessness’s root causes. According the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 2016 Homelessness Point in Time Count (PIT) conducted for Athens-Clarke County, the total number of homeless individuals dropped from 247 persons in 2014 to 225 persons in January 2016. Clarke County sits among 11 other counties reporting the highest numbers of homelessness in the state. The Georgia Department of…

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