Fresh II Recap: How Local Food Is Addressing Food Access in Metro Atlanta (VIDEO)

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Fresh II: A Health & Nutrition Local Food Forum brought together urban growers and health professionals to highlight the work being done on Atlanta’s Westside and in Metro Atlanta to improve health outcomes through local food.

The convening would not have been possible without collaborating with our community partners, which include:

  • Wholesome Wave Georgia
  • Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health
  • Emory University School of Medicine’s Urban Health Initiative
  • Georgia Food Oasis
  • Good Samaritan Health Center
  • Organix Matters

At Fresh II, we had the opportunity to learn more about the great and innovative work being done with Fresh MARTA Market through a presentation by J.Olu Baiyewu of Organix Matters, which oversees the day-to-day operations of the markets.  We learned that Fresh MARTA Market is a partnership among various organizations in Metro Atlanta, and that supporting local growers, accessibility and affordability are center to its work.

During the convening, groups were also able to revisit the social networking map we developed as a group during Fresh I, and had the chance to learn more about each other's work during a collaborative working session. 

From the breakout session we learned key commonalities among the groups in the room:

  • They are working on health outcomes to decrease morbidity and are youth focused
  • They are using local food as a health initiative and as a way to increase access to fresh, nutritious food
  • They are doing direct service work that directly impacts and works with the community
  • All have a focus on accessibility to food and food education, particularly in schools
  • While they play different roles (educators, connectors, researchers, healthcare providers), they are all interested in food security

Moving forward, many people shared interest in strengthening farm-to-pantry initiatives, strengthening partnerships between health initiatives and local growers, and developing ways to expand CSA drop-offs throughout the city - and these are just a few of the great ideas that came out of this convening.

You can view everything we worked on during the Fresh I and Fresh II convenings, including:

At Food Well Alliance, local food is at the center of what we do, and we believe local food is key to building a livable, resilient Metro Atlanta that grows, shares and enjoys fresh, locally-grown food.

Learn more about our upcoming Local Food Forum on economic development and local food on October 25th. You can learn more here.

To stay up to date with Food Well Alliance's work, you can join as a member here.