Igniting Flames of Impact of Health and Wellness into University Choice Neighborhoods

Market attendees arriving to enjoy farmer's market activities

Market vendors break for a little fun during monthly farmer's market

Light! Aim! Shoot! The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) and Choice Atlanta are igniting a community movement where people can live, work and thrive. According to Wholesome Wave Georgia Evaluation Report, food insecurity is at the highest levels in the U.S. since the Great Depression. Georgia has the fourth highest rate of food insecurity in America. Approximately 3,000 households in the University Choice Neighborhood/ UCN (Ashview Heights, Atlanta University Center and Vine City) have limited access to food retail resources and healthcare providers. The Return to Community (RTC) Farmers Market initiative provides resources for healthier living for those who need it most.

"A farmer's market is AHA's effort to help offset the ‘food desert' designation in the University Choice neighborhoods," states Ernestine Garey, Choice Atlanta lead and interim chief administrative officer of the Atlanta Housing Authority. "Healthy foods and services leads to healthier people, and small businesses providing high demand products to consumers support economic prosperity."

Since June 2017, every third Saturday of the month the RTC Farmers Market has been providing goods and services in an underserved part of Atlanta, Ga. Over 400 attendees have been able to shop for locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables and participate in health and wellness programs hosted by community partners. Morehouse School of Medicine, Families First Inc., Truly Living Well and Organix Matters are just a few of the driving forces that help the farmers market succeed.

"AHA has been excited about hosting farmer's markets in the University Choice Neighborhood," said Catherine Buell, president and CEO of AHA. "Through these markets, we are creating more sustainable communities, provoking a return of confidence to these communities, and increasing access to fresh foods, heath services and education."

The Return to Community Farmers Market, located at 137 Elm Street, S.W., Atlanta, Ga., 30314, will continue to serve the UCN and surrounding community through October 2017.

The Choice Neighborhoods program supports locally driven strategies to address struggling neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation. Local leaders, residents, and stakeholders, such as public housing authorities, cities, schools, police, business owners, nonprofits, and private developers, come together to create and implement a plan that transforms distressed HUD housing and addresses the challenges in the surrounding neighborhood. The program is designed to catalyze critical improvements in neighborhood assets, including vacant property, housing, services and schools.

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