The Boulevard Food Co-Op, an outreach of the Truly Living Well Center for Urban Agriculture and Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall’s Yo! Boulevard initiative, is changing the food landscape for low-income residents in Bedford Pines and Cosby Spear.
The co-op brings new life to those trying to replace cheap fast food with healthy, affordable, local food options. It shows the power of community action and leadership in creating local solutions to local challenges.
The co-op emerged from the voices of the community to address the paralyzing impact of food insecurity. Food insecurity exists whenever nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or the ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially appropriate ways, is limited or uncertain.
Through community meetings, residents shared concerns about the lack of access to fresh, affordable produce, as well as how this impacted their diet-related illnesses. These residents decided to take action because they had had enough of the drive-throughs and corner stores clustered in their neighborhood.
How can you get involved?
On March 28, healthy food advocates will join the Boulevard Food Co-Op at Truly Living Well’s Wheat Street Garden for the Food Access for All 5K Fun Run and Walk. The event will follow a course from the Wheat Street Garden, along Boulevard, to Whole Foods Market, and then return to the garden. At Whole Foods, participants will collect a 10-pound bag of groceries (equivalent to three days of groceries). The Atlanta Community Food Bank will collect this food to distribute to agencies in the Old Fourth Ward.
Eating healthy is crucial to living a healthy, productive life. It is a key factor in reducing diet-related disease. Yet 25 million to 30 million Americans live in communities that do not have adequate food access. Individuals who live in neighborhoods characterized by environmental factors — such as a lack of efficient transportation — that hinder access to healthy and reliable food sources are at risk of higher rates of chronic disease.
In low-income areas, inequalities exist in the quality, variety, quantity and price of healthy foods. This often results in the consumption of high-caloric, low-nutrient foods. Poverty is already a crippling cycle. These barriers make it challenging for low-income individuals to eat and live well.
As advocates, we witness this interplay between health and access and the real consequences that has on the lives of our neighbors. Many people are aware of how poor diet impairs their health and sincerely desire to improve the way they eat, but are unable to because of obstacles obtaining affordable, healthy food.
Ignoring this relationship is no longer an option. Food insecurity is a threat to public health and a symptom of poverty. It requires innovative solutions that empower and engage those at risk.
Healthy food is a right. Yet for many in the United States, it is a privilege. The multi-level partnerships involving AmeriCorps VISTA, Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture and Yo! Boulevard challenge this paradigm.
According to one of the founding co-op members, “This membership provides us an opportunity to eat affordably, because the healthy foods at the grocery stores around here are too expensive. This gives us an opportunity to truly live well.”
Join us in taking a stand against Atlanta's limited access to healthy foods. Support Boulevard Food Co-Op's efforts by registering for the Food Access for All 5K Fun Run and Walk at: https://foodaccessforall5krun.eventbrite.com.
Sara Thorpe is organizer of the Boulevard Food Co-Op.
