In a nod to metro Atlanta’s growing diversity, Georgia has incorporated a grocery chain that caters to immigrant families into the state’s food stamps program.
Starting this month, recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, are able to use their benefits at the Nam Dae Mun Farmers Market, an international foods retailer and wholesaler with eight locations scattered across diverse Atlanta suburbs.
“We are pleased to add Nam Dae Mun Farmers Market to our list of SNAP retailers, so the company may provide SNAP households with more access to quality produce and expansive selection,” said Melody DeBussey, Deputy Commissioner for Family Independence at the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), in a statement. “As we continue to cultivate partnerships across the state, this will provide critical in meeting the diverse needs of our customers in the metro Atlanta area.”
Nam Dae Mun – Korean for “Great Southern Gate” – began operating in 2005, starting with a store in Duluth.
SNAP recipients can now use their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to purchase SNAP-eligible products both in Nam Dae Mun’s physical locations and on its website.
Belisa Urbina leads Ser Familia, an immigrant-serving nonprofit whose work includes hunger relief and assisting eligible families to sign up for SNAP. She says her organization partnered with Nam Dae Mun on a temporary food voucher program during the pandemic. She welcomes the chain’s addition to the state’s list of SNAP retailers.
“I think it’s very positive,” she said.
Having access to foods they are familiar with make immigrant families feel empowered, Urbina explained.
“It gives them dignity … they can look at [the food items on offer] and say, ‘Oh, I know what to do with this.’”
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