Envisioning an Equitable Food System in Atlanta

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Earth deserves more than one day of celebration and support for environmental protection. Earth provides us the necessities of a prosperous life for our lives and future generations. However, access to food and water is a disparity seen more often than not. All communities deserve an equitable food system where they can provide for their families, live a sustainable life and contribute to healthy and thriving communities. 

Systemic Inequities

While Atlanta is one of the best cities to live in, it experiences some of the highest rankings in income inequality and food deserts in the United States.

Primarily in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color historically disproportioned, disparities in food access, effects of climate change and poverty are ever so present. There is a lack of fresh and diverse food, local markets, funding and change for processed foods in the food industry. Food waste and unsustainable practices at both individual and large-scale production are at alarming rates.

The Library of Medicine’s Influence of Inequality on Health Outcomes, explains how racial and economic inequalities, result in the latter having chronic health conditions, lower life expectancy and long-term mental health effects than the national average. In an equitable food system, community members are able to build generational wealth, health, and stability.

Four Areas of Impactful Change for an Equitable Food System

• Access: Providing transportation, diversity of food, economic opportunities, health education, etc.
• Policy: Enacting policies at all governing levels that address the issues of living wages, systemic issues, affordable housing, Farmers’ rights, etc.
• Support: Lifting up community voice, donations, volunteerism, corporate responsibility, etc.
• Sustainability: Reframing what daily life looks like by reducing carbon footprints, urban gardening, use of eco-friendly products, etc.

Impactful Change

In 2022, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s impact investing initiative, GoATL, made a $1 million investment in the Conservation Fund’s Working Farms Fund to support the preservation of farmland in Atlanta and farmers who feed our region.

Nonprofits such as the Food Well Alliance, Truly Living Well and Wylde Center focus on providing the community access to educational resources, community gardens, and volunteer opportunities in Atlanta.

In 2020, the City of Atlanta Department of City Planning released its “Fresh Food Access” report and interactive map. It highlights a 23 percent increase in city residents living within half a mile of fresh food.

Change is possible, and you can make a change today for a better life, earth and future. Thank you to the farmers, growers, cultivators, donors, distributors, advocates and workers who make the access of fresh food possible.

Photo credits: Decisive Moment Photography | Trees Atlanta