Wholesome Wave Georgia Leads Fresh Food Access Trainings

Atlanta — Last month, Wholesome Wave Georgia, a nonprofit that connects fresh local food with families in need, led trainings for local farms, farmers markets, and healthcare providers on how to combat food insecurity across the state through their core programs: Georgia Fresh For Less and Georgia Food For Health.

The Georgia Fresh For Less program matches SNAP/EBT benefits spent on fruits and vegetables at local farms and farmers markets. The program serves more than 10,000 families per year and supports over 650 local farmers and food producers.

63 partner farms and markets attended the annual Georgia Fresh For Less Network Gathering held Sunday, February 23rd, at Monday Night Garage.

“We were delighted to get everyone in the same room to learn from one another and kick off another great decade of serving our neighbors on SNAP with fresh local food,” reported Alysa Moore, Georgia Fresh For Less program manager.

In addition to training partners on the Georgia Fresh For Less program, Wholesome Wave Georgia celebrated 14 recipients of their 2019 Market Innovation Mini Grant designed to support program and EBT outreach at farmers markets.

Applications to join the network of Georgia Fresh For Less partner farms and farmers markets will open this summer.

Wholesome Wave Georgia also hosted their annual Georgia Food For Health program training Thursday, February 27th, at Good Samaritan Health Center. Over 35 healthcare staff, administrators, and produce retailers attended the Georgia Food For Health training with representation from Athens Farmers Market, Mercy Health Center, Augusta Locally Grown, Grady Health System, Good Samaritan Health Center, Community Farmers Market, the Common Market Southeast, Emory University, and Open Hand Atlanta. These organizations serve food-insecure communities across Athens, Augusta, and Atlanta.

“The program is a proven evidence-based model of preventative healthcare,” said Lissette Badillo, Georgia Food For Health program manager. “Going into our 5th year, we are excited to increase our collaboration as partners continue to share best practices for helping food-insecure families lead healthier lives.”

Since 2015, Georgia Food For Health served nearly 2,000 household members and redeemed over $200,000 worth of fruits and vegetables prescriptions. The Georgia Food For Health program partners with healthcare providers to write fruit and vegetable prescriptions for food-insecure families to redeem at participating farmers markets. The program serves Georgians managing diet-related diseases — diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, etc. — and their households by allowing them to shop for fresh local food and maintain a healthy lifestyle with cooking and wellness classes.

Visit www.wholesomewavegeorgia.org for more information on the Georgia Fresh For Less and Georgia Food For Health statewide programs as well as SNAP/EBT assistance.

ABOUT WHOLESOME WAVE GEORGIA
Wholesome Wave Georgia believes that all Georgians should have access to fresh, healthy, locally grown food choices. Founded in 2009, Wholesome Wave Georgia strives to strengthen local food communities by empowering networks of farmers to facilitate access to and awareness of healthy food choices. By increasing the affordability of healthy, locally-grown foods, Wholesome Wave Georgia makes healthy, nourishing choices accessible for Georgia’s food-insecure population. Wholesome Wave Georgia realizes our mission through our core programs: Georgia Fresh For Less, Georgia Food For Health, and Georgia SNAP Connection.

For more information, visit www.wholesomewavegeorgia.org.

OTHER DETAILS: SNAP/EBT assistance or program inquiries should be directed to Emme Raus, Communications & Development Coordinator, at emme@wholesomewavegeorgia.org or at
(603) 327-7961.