Andy Kim

Andy grew up in Athens, Georgia, and graduated from Emory University with a degree in anthropology. He conducted field research in the Central Plateau of Haiti, studied the relationship between food insecurity and mental health, and helped develop a community garden in the Bankhead neighborhood of Atlanta. An advocate for immigrants' rights, he led a successful initiative for tuition equity at Emory that resulted in a change to Emory policy to provide financial aid to undocumented students. He organized a college preparation class at Freedom University, a modern-day freedom school that provides college-level classes for undocumented students in Georgia. Andy has interned with the United Way of Greater Atlanta, where he helped implement a family-based community development initiative in a refugee community in Clarkston, Georgia.

Field placement: Hunger Free Colorado

Denver, Colorado

Andy conducted a community needs assessment in the La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood, which identified the factors influencing the availability of and access to food, coping strategies for hunger, and proposed solutions to alleviate food insecurity in the community. Using survey, interview, and focus group data, Andy developed recommendations to reduce hunger and improve community food security that were informed by conversations with both local service providers and the residents of La Alma-Lincoln Park.

Policy placement: Farmworker Justice

Washington, D.C.

Andy was on the health team and wrote a white paper on food insecurity in farmworker communities, helped provide technical assistance to community health centers that are enrolling farmworkers into healthcare, and supported ongoing initiatives to strengthen workers protection standards for the H2-A visa program.

Publications