The Invest Atlanta Board of Directors has approved $2.6 million to fund projects that will increase availability of healthy, affordable food and help to combat food insecurity.
The investments will improve access to fresh food and decrease food insecurity in communities with more than 11,000 residents living with limited access to groceries. The projects will create more than $53.8 million in economic impact for the city while creating or preserving 226 jobs in low-income neighborhoods.
“Our Administration is committed to ensuring that all Atlantans should have access to fresh, affordable food in their communities,” said Mayor Andre Dickens and Board Chair of Invest Atlanta. “Ensuring access to fresh food is not just a matter of nourishment; it is a fundamental commitment to the health and well-being of our community.”
Mayor Andre Dickens is working closely with Invest Atlanta to create more fresh food access opportunities including establishing the Atlanta Food Access Catalyst Grant (AFACG) for those affected by food insecurity, especially Atlanta’s senior population. Funding for three of the projects will come the AFACG program.
Projects receiving AFAC grants include:
- Goodr Be On Edgewood: Goodr is a national leader in innovative approaches to improving food security by connecting excess food which is completely safe for consumption with food insecure communities. Leveraging a $330,000 Atlanta Food Access Catalyst grant, Goodr will open a grocery store at Be on Edgewood serving Atlanta’s senior and unhoused communities.
- City of Refuge: City of Refuge is a faith-based non-profit based in Vine City which has served Atlanta residents for nearly 30 years. By providing housing, job training, and education, City of Refuge has established itself as a national leader in community development and economic mobility. The City of Refuge Transformation Center at 1343 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard is a new facility that will include an entrepreneurship hub, a credit union, and a healthy neighborhood market. City of Refuge has received a $200,000 Atlanta Food Access Catalyst Grant to help finance the development of the neighborhood market.
- Atlanta Community Food Bank MLK: Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB). ACFB will renovate an existing commercial property along the Martin Luther King Drive corridor and open a Community Food Center (CFC). ACFB has a long history of serving families across the city and has been awarded a $250K Atlanta Food Access Catalyst grant and a $250K Tax Allocation District (TAD) grant. These grants will support the creation of the first Community Food Center in the city of Atlanta, reusing a vacant retail space on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Community Food Centers, operated by the Atlanta Community Food Bank, serve as an innovative approach to improving food security.
“Recent statistics show that about 14 percent of Atlanta’s population is food insecure with minorities struggling with hunger more than other households,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “Addressing food insecurity is not merely a challenge; it is an imperative that demands collective action to ensure that every individual has access to the nourishment they need to thrive.”
Additional projects approved for funding include:
- 500 James P. Brawley Drive: The proposed project seeks to redevelop a well-known neighborhood space, commonly known as “the Yellow Store.” The renovation will preserve certain details of the 100-year-old structure and will retain its original use, with neighborhood retail on the ground floor and residential on the second level. The vacant building known in the neighborhood as the Yellow Store will become a mixed-use development with neighborhood retail on the ground floor and residential on the second level. Leveraging a $750,000 Westside TAD grant, improvements include the addition of an outdoor canopy at the rear of the building intended to provide seating for a local food service tenant.
- Sweet Auburn Municipal Market: opened in its current building on Auburn Avenue in 1924 the Municipal Market now houses thirty local businesses, including grocery vendors, retail stores and several popular eateries. Through a $775,000 Eastside TAD grant and funding from the City of Atlanta, the Municipal Market will reconstruct its vendor booths and fund a new Vendor Success Program administered by Invest Atlanta.
Visit Invest Atlanta’s BoardDocs website for more information about these projects and other items approved by the Board.
