Learning About Food Insecurity in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Using Key Informant Interviews

Several studies have suggested that food insecurity rates increased during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to assess the strategies employed by food relief organizations to combat this issue amidst the challenges of 2020. Specifically, the research focused on six local food organizations in the Athens, Clarke County area in Georgia. Organizations were contacted via email, and subsequent key informant interviews were conducted via Zoom with the organization’s leaders to understand their responses to food insecurity relief during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The findings were synthesized using a narrative qualitative approach to identify overarching themes in the organizations’ strategies amid the pandemic. Overall, this study revealed a prevalent lack of emergency preparedness among the organizations, exacerbating the issue of food insecurity in the Athens-Clarke County, Georgia area. These results underscore the need for public policy interventions addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity, including the elimination of food deserts, enhancement of food procurement accessibility, improvement of food affordability, and mitigation of associated disparities by race, income, and gender. By understanding the experiences of these organizations amidst the pandemic and the pre-existing factors that contribute to food insecurity, stakeholders, including other organizations, community leaders, and locals may be able to better prepare for future crises. KEYWORDS: Food insecurity; key informant interviews; qualitative analysis; COVID-19; health disparities; food deserts