ATLANTA – October 18, 2024 – Invest Atlanta today announced the Invest Atlanta Board of Directors has approved $2.5 million to fund projects that will increase availability of healthy, affordable food and combat food insecurity. The funding approved will provide grocery options to more than 11,000 residents living in low-income and low-access areas as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“A city of opportunity is one where all residents have access to fresh, affordable food in their communities,” said Mayor Andre Dickens. “The funding approved by the Invest Atlanta Board upholds this commitment and will help us foster strong, healthy neighborhoods throughout the city.”

Mayor Andre Dickens worked with Invest Atlanta to establish new fresh food access initiatives, including the Atlanta Food Access Catalyst Grant (AFACG) program for those affected by food insecurity, especially Atlanta’s senior population. Funding for the AFACG is part of a $6 million investment from the Atlanta City Council to bring more fresh food options to low-income and low-access neighborhoods.

Projects approved by the Invest Atlanta Board for Atlanta Food Access Catalyst Grants include:

• Goodr Be on Edgewood - Goodr is a national leader in innovative approaches to improving food security by connecting excess food which is completely safe for consumption with food insecure communities. Leveraging a $330,000 Atlanta Food Access Catalyst grant, Goodr will open a grocery store at Be on Edgewood serving Atlanta's senior and unhoused communities.
• City of Refuge - City of Refuge is a faith-based non-profit servicing the city of Atlanta for nearly 30 years, including Washington Heights, Bankhead, and Grove Park. By providing housing, job training, and education, City of Refuge has established itself as a national leader in community development and economic mobility. The City of Refuge Transformation Center at 1343 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard is a new facility that will include an entrepreneurship hub, a credit union, and a healthy neighborhood market. The project has received a $200,000 Atlanta Food Access Catalyst Grant to help finance the development of the neighborhood market.
• Atlanta Community Food Bank - Atlanta Community Food Bank (The Food Bank). The Food Bank will renovate an existing commercial property along the Martin Luther King Drive corridor and open a Community Food Center (CFC). The Food Bank has a long history of serving families across the city and has been awarded a $250,000 Atlanta Food Access Catalyst grant and a $250,000 Tax

Allocation District (TAD) grant. These grants will support the creation of the first Community Food Center in the city of Atlanta, reusing a vacant retail space on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Community Food Centers, operated by the Atlanta Community Food Bank, serve as an innovative approach to improving food security.

“Recent statistics show that about 14 percent of Atlanta’s population is food insecure with minorities struggling with hunger more than other households,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta. "Addressing food insecurity is not merely a challenge, it is an imperative that demands collective action to ensure that every individual has access to the nourishment they need to thrive."

Additional food access projects approved for funding by the Invest Atlanta Board include:

• 500 James P. Brawley Drive - The proposed project seeks to redevelop a well-known neighborhood space, commonly known as the “Yellow Store.” The vacant building will become a mixed-use development with neighborhood retail on the ground floor and residential on the second level. Leveraging a $750,000 Westside TAD grant, improvements include the addition of an outdoor canopy at the rear of the building intended to provide seating for a local food service tenant.
• Sweet Auburn Municipal Market - Opened in its current building on Auburn Avenue in 1924, the Municipal Market now houses thirty local businesses, including grocery vendors, retail stores and several popular eateries. Through a $775,000 Eastside TAD grant and funding from the City of Atlanta, the Municipal Market will reconstruct its vendor booths and fund a new Vendor Success Program administered by Invest Atlanta.

In addition to increasing grocery options, the approved projects will create more than $53.8 million in economic impact and create or preserve 226 jobs.

Visit Invest Atlanta’s BoardDocs website for more information about these projects and other items approved by the Board.

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