Most of us know what it’s like to push yourself to pick an apple over a bag of chips for a healthy snack. At the grocery store we head straight towards the produce department and skip over the processed foods when we shop for ourselves and our families. But did you know that’s not always an option for some of our fellow residents?
There are communities that lack the resources, assistance and education they need to obtain fresh, healthy food. I’m so proud that here in Atlanta, neighbors, nonprofits and community leaders are coming together to help these community members shop smarter, eat healthier and feel better. The Georgia Food Oasis (GFO) campaign is bringing together partnerships that will help communities develop innovative and affordable ways for residents to discover, taste and learn about food.
The GFO program is a collaboration between the Atlanta Community Food Bank, HEALing Community Center, Fulton Fresh Mobile Farmers Market, Georgia Organics, Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, The Good Samaritan Health Center, Quality Care for Children, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, and Captain Planet Foundation (CPF), with support from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation.
This is such an exciting collaboration of organizations! I’ve spent a great deal of my life’s work towards improving the health of children, and I’ve learned that it’s through teamwork and partnerships that things really get done. Through my experience as a board member of the Environmental Working Group, a cofounder of Mothers and Others for Clean Air and chairing CPF, I know it truly takes a village to make change and improve the health of our children. By using the strength in creating partnerships, the GFO campaign is a new holistic and comprehensive approach to improving the food resources for all our citizens.
Food Oasis partners recognize that food represents heritage, love, faith, healing and family pride, that food builds community and reduces social isolation. They have implemented an Eat, Cook, Grow strategy (source http://georgiafoodoasis.org):
Eat
- Doctors will write nutrition prescriptions to help patients make healthy food choices and send coaches to the supermarket to help patients shop differently.
- Volunteers will work with grocery stores to make it easy to identify fresh, delicious food choices.
- Mobile farm stands, corner store makeovers, travelling pantries and other innovations will make healthy food choices available and affordable.
Cook
- Chefs will offer cooking demos and health and nutrition classes, including “Shop with the Doc” events where health care providers help consumers choose options that can prevent or reverse chronic diseases.
- Retailers will provide special discounts so residents can try the recipes at home.
- Amateur chefs and experienced cooks will share their secrets for making quick, affordable meals.
Grow
- Urban farms will help local residents grow fresh produce, right in their own neighborhoods, creating affordable and reliable sources of high-quality food.
- Farmers, doctors, grocery store owners and others will work with residents to explore innovative ways to expand the Westside Food Oasis.
- The program will offer grants, loans and technical assistance to small-business owners who want to start or expand a healthy food business in the area.
As chairperson of CPF, I’m excited to announce that CPF will be participating in this amazing initiative through its Learning Gardens Program. Based on data from funding over 700 school gardens around the country and 20 years of experience, CPF developed the Learning Gardens Program as a holistic, five-pronged approach to ensuring that school gardens are used for outdoor instruction AND to develop kids’ palates early for fresh fruits and vegetables.
The summer garden management component of CPF’s Learning Gardens Program maintains school gardens around metro Atlanta during out-of-school summer months. Through generous support from the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, CPF will again support over 50 school gardens in Cobb County Public Schools and Atlanta Public Schools. CPF provides stipends for Summer Garden Interns to weed, water, plant and harvest summer produce and to maintain the fall harvest crops for students to eat when they get back to school. Food harvested from the summer-managed gardens is donated to Atlanta Community Food Bank or is directly distributed through the school community. With the goal of having a garden in every metro-Atlanta public school (over 525) by 2020, CPF is well on its way with over 120 gardens funded — and supporting the Food Oasis is a fantastic next step!
I hope you will join me and all the amazing organizations and volunteers in partnering to lift up our fellow citizens and give them the resources they need to live better, healthier lives. You can learn more about GFO at zuwzu.georgiafiodoasis.org.
http://issuu.com/southernseasons/docs/souseasummer14
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