A local nonprofit organization is looking for $6,000 in financial support from the Athens County Commissioners to continue functioning in the county.
Mary Nally, the director of Community Food Initiatives, an organization in the county that teaches citizens to grow their own food, presented a request to the commissioners at a meeting Tuesday for help paying AmeriCorps service members.
“CFI pays a little over $6,000 for each member, and so I’ve asked the city and the county to match a portion of that, $2,000 for each member, for a total of $6,000,” she said.
The AmeriCorps workers assist with different CFI programs in Athens County, such as community gardens and the Donation Station program, which donates food items to 38 food pantries and social service agencies every year, Nally said.
“We have one full-time staff member and one part-time person that manages the Donation Station, and then all of the rest of the work is done by AmeriCorps workers through the College of Osteopathic Medicine,” Nally said.
Athens Commissioner Lenny Eliason said the commissioners would look into supporting the organization financially.
“We’ll see (in next year’s budget) if we can fund anything,” Eliason said.
Commissioner Chris Chmiel agreed and said it’s important to support organizations such as this one because people need to be able to provide for themselves more.
“Community Food Initiative is trying to promote skills that make people more self-reliant,” Chmiel said. “And also, I think when you start providing for yourself, you have to work, but there’s a certain level of satisfaction.”
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