Cars snaked through the Cornerstone Church Athens parking lot and spilled out onto Lexington Road the morning of Saturday Nov. 16, 2024, as over a thousand families waited to receive assistance from the church’s monthly food pantry. 

For the 2024 election, 87% of voters pointed to the economy as an important issue influencing their vote. Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris touted new economic plans to combat prices as a part of their platforms. A reported 80% of Trump voters cited the economy as the reason for their presidential choice. Athens-Clarke County, a majority Democratic community, is the smallest county in Georgia with the highest rate of poverty per capita in the state. A startling 16.8% of Athens’ population is food insecure, compared to the national average of 13.5%.

“I know food prices have kind of stabilized, but it doesn’t mean they’re going down,” said Steve Stringham, Care and Small Groups Pastor for Cornerstone Church. “So the need is much greater, and Athens-Clarke County is one of the poor counties in the whole state, so that adds to another part of this equation.”

Cornerstone Church holds their food pantry on the third Saturday of every month. The program began as a small closet of non-perishables nearly 25 years ago. The pantry served up to50 families twice a month until COVID-19, when attendance at least doubled, according to Stringham. On Saturday the church parking lot swelled with 1,007 families lined up to receive free turkeys and other food donated by local organizations and distributed by church volunteers.

The bulk of monthly donations to Cornerstone come from Feeding America’s Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, who partners with organizations in 15 counties to provide nourishing food to those in need. Cornerstone also works with organizations such as Action, Inc. and their Full Plate program, which is the only food rescue and redistribution program in Northeast Georgia.

Another religious affiliated organization in downtown Athens helps meet the needs Athens residents facing food insecurity. Our Daily Bread is a community kitchen located at First Baptist Church of Athens that serves over 500 people each week. Guests can come for breakfast and lunch, as well as other resources, working to provide connections within the community.

“Having more paths out of homelessness would be a really great thing, but I don’t think that’s going to just come from a program or from a grant. That’s also going to require new relationships, new family, almost, kind of being a part of a larger community that’s something like a family,” said Matt Marston, Senior Minister of First Baptist Church of Athens.

As religious organizations, many of these different groups see it as a part of their ministry to have these outreach efforts toward all Athens citizens in need, regardless of religion. .

“I think there’s just this understanding of like, ‘Well, I’m religious, and so my religion tells me to love you and to treat you well, so I’ll never treat you differently for not being religious,’,” said Autumn Chandini, events coordinator for Sparrows Nest, a Christ-centered ministry that provides a variety of needs including free meals.

Sparrow’s Nest’s mission is to use the power of God and the nurturing of relationships to change and save lives. Of the nearly 200 volunteers required to execute Cornerstone Church’s Food Pantry, many are families from the church congregation. An estimated $2,000 of Cornerstone’s budget goes to the pantry each month.

“The Bible says, ‘It’s more blessed to give than to receive,’” said Stringham, “and the people that are getting the food,they are blessed, but it’s much more beneficial for people’s emotional and spiritual life to give.”

Secular organizations also make an impact in the Athens area. Bigger Vision of Athens is a community homeless shelter that provides a bed for up to 36 people, two meals and hygiene services every night, as well as other daytime services. 

“This is somewhere they can come to get their basic necessities and to, you know, get treated like human beings,” said Phoebe Milledge, graduate intern for Bigger Vision.

Milledge said that it only takes one thing going wrong in someone’s life to become food insecure or homeless. 

“I don’t want anybody to be homeless,” said Milledge, “I would love if Bigger Vision didn’t have to exist.”