New Atlanta program tackles hunger with unsold produce

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Published  November 14, 2024 7:15pm EST
FOX 5 Atlanta
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Fighting food insecurity in Georgia

According to Feeding America, a nonprofit network of food banks in the US, one-in-eight adults and one-in-five children in Georgia live in food-insecure homes. It’s a sign of the times and it’s an unfortunate statistic that many would like to see change. There’s a new innovative partnership that hopes to change that and bring farm-to-table freshness to Atlanta families in need while helping Georgia farmers at the same time.

The Brief

    • Second Helpings Atlanta and Retaaza have launched a partnership to combat food insecurity in metro Atlanta by providing unsold farm-fresh produce to those in need.
    • The initiative supports local farmers by reducing food waste (nearly 40% of farm produce) and ensuring farmers are compensated for their unsold goods.
    • According to Feeding America, a significant portion of Georgia's population, including one in eight adults and one in five children, experiences food insecurity.
    • The program aims to quickly move harvested food from farms to food-insecure individuals, reshaping the approach to hunger relief and supporting local agriculture.
    • With reported surges in demand for food aid, this venture is a step towards expansion to better address hunger across Georgia.

ATLANTA - For some, farm-fresh can be a luxury, but for the hundreds of thousands of people in metro Atlanta who are considered food insecure, that is not always what they can get their hands on.

A new partnership between Second Helpings Atlanta and Retaaza hopes to change that and reduce food waste at farms too.

"It feels very, very good to know that the food that we have painstakingly, lovingly grown is going to nourish people," said Judith Winfrey, co-owner of Love is Love Cooperative Farm in Newton County. "That's why we do what we do."

Winfrey’s farm is part of the new program that takes fruits and veggies that go unsold and helps fight hunger.

"It gives us the confidence to grow all we can grow because we know that we have a backup plan if we're unable to sell our food through our regular channels," she said.

Second Helpings Atlanta says nearly 40% of what is produced by farmers goes to waste, meaning nobody benefits. The nonprofit says this program changes that and pays farmers for their work and also gets farm-fresh produce to the hungry in the Atlanta-area.

According to Feeding America, a nonprofit network of food banks in the U.S., one in eight adults and one in five children in Georgia live in food-insecure homes.

"It's harvested, say, on Wednesday, and then it arrives in our warehouse on Friday typically," said Paul Clements, Executive Director of Second Helpings Atlanta. "Then it's out onto someone's plate by Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning."

Those behind the program hope it reshapes the way hunger is fought and how best to support local farmers.

"This is the first project where we have really partnered hand-in-hand to rescue farm food waste and have a systematic way of getting it out in volume," said Kashi Sehgal, founder and CEO of Retaaza.

This program gives food pantries access to fresh fruits and veggies, which is better than the highly processed foods that can dominate food aid.

Second Helpings says this comes at a time, their partners are reporting huge spikes in demand.

"We're very happy to be able to offer our nonprofit partners more access to more food,  particularly fresh, nutritious food," Clements said.

The new program is just the beginning, and they hope to expand it going forward to help people throughout Georgia.

For information on Second Helpings Atlanta: secondhelpingsatlanta.org

For information on Retaaza: retaaza.com

The Source: Second Helpings Atlanta and Retaaza spoke with FOX 5 Atlanta for this report.