We are very pleased to share that Fulton County, Georgia Commissioners voted to invest $395,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to expand Wholesome Wave Georgia’s Georgia Fresh for Less program within Fulton County, Georgia. This funding will help us make fresh, locally grown produce more accessible to our neighbors by making the Georgia Fresh for Less program available in more places, like grocery and convenience stores.
Georgia Fresh for Less matches food stamps dollars — also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — participants spend on locally-grown produce, making it affordable for SNAP families to build healthy shopping and eating habits. We were able to access the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds thanks to our partnership with the American Heart Association.
With over 144,000 SNAP recipients within Fulton County., this funding will expand the Georgia Fresh for Less program to new and existing retail community partners such as grocery stores, convenience stores, and urban farms. The funding will also support convening Fulton County citizens and stakeholders to collaborate and learn how locally grown produce can reach more citizens.
“Wholesome Wave Georgia is proud to receive this vote of confidence from the Fulton County Commission. This American Rescue Plan Act funding allows our nonprofit to serve more of Fulton County’s food-insecure families providing greater access to fresh, healthy, locally grown produce from Georgia’s small, independent producers across the county,” said Will Sellers, Wholesome Wave Georgia’s Executive Director.
“Supporting Wholesome Wave Georgia was imperative for all of Fulton County. The key to having an overall rewarding life, is to take a holistic approach to health. I am an advocate of our Fulton County citizens to having good physical and mental health and access to healthy food. The outcome of an individual is as a result of what we put into our bodies,” said Commissioner Natalie Hall, Vice Chair of the Fulton County Commission.
“The American Heart Association is committed to ensuring that families have access to affordable healthy food choices,” says Kimberly Wright, Senior Vice President & Executive Director of the American Heart Association in Atlanta. “What we know is that when families are nutrition secure their overall health improves and we are so thrilled to work alongside partners like Wholesome Wave Georgia to work on policy initiatives that drive dollars back into the community and investing directly into its citizens.”
“Funding SNAP Healthy Incentives provides much needed matching dollars to participating retailers and farmers markets for SNAP recipients to purchase additional fresh fruits and vegetables: this not only puts healthy food on the table for residents of Fulton County, Georgia; but it also supports small businesses like our local farmers, the economy and the health and well-being of the communities that we love and call home,”
