The Dickens Administration has partnered with City Council on legislation to allocate funding to provide access to quality groceries and fresh food in underserved Atlanta communities. The legislation (Ordinance ID 32708) introduced by Councilmembers Overstreet and Boone would allocate $1 million to Invest Atlanta to help incentivize job creation, encourage investment and provide the tools to spur development and food access to areas who have historically experienced food insecurity.  

“Every family in Atlanta deserves access to fresh, healthy food and convenient locations that provide these items,” said Mayor Andre Dickens. “These funds are an investment in communities impacted by historic underinvestment from national chains. The City is committed to righting those wrongs, with an end goal of eliminating food insecurity in every zip code.”

There are fewer than 50 grocery stores (with 50 employees or less) in Atlanta and the differential in the quality of the grocers is markedly different in the northeastern quadrants of the city versus the others.

“Providing access to healthy and affordable food continues to be a top priority. This is an incredible initiative for our district and the Campbellton Road corridor. This investment will create tremendous opportunities for economic development with the hope of creating a municipal marketplace that will attract diverse and creative business owners,” said District 11 Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet. “Thank you to Invest Atlanta and our mayor for helping coordinate this plan that invests in our residents. This is another great example of public and private entities collaborating in Atlanta to enhance the quality of life in our city.”

The lack of grocery stores and access to healthy food has a significant impact on public health—carrying higher risks for obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure for affected individuals.

“Through this fund, we can make a real difference in District 10 for our residents who have limited access to healthy foods. My constituents don’t have enough options, leaving them to buy food from the neighborhood gas stations and fast-food restaurants,” said District 10 Councilmember Andrea Boone. “A lack of grocery stores makes people eat unhealthy food too often and creates economic disparities. This partnership with Invest Atlanta will give residents much better access to fresh and healthy foods, which will have a long-term positive impact on our citizens in the city of Atlanta.”

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) found that Black non-Hispanic households were more than two times as likely to experience food insecurity than the national average (21.7% versus 10.5%, respectively). DHHS also found that predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods may have fewer full-service supermarkets than predominantly White and non-Hispanic neighborhoods, that convenience stores may have higher food prices, lower-quality foods, and a smaller variety of foods than supermarkets or grocery stores, and that access to healthy foods is also affected by lack of transportation and long distances between residences and supermarkets or grocery stores.

“This is a great opportunity for our city. Not having grocery stores close by creates barriers in our neighborhoods that must be broken down,” said District 12 Councilmember Antonio Lewis. “By addressing this challenge, we can decrease food insecurity, give our residents better options, and help to boost our economic vitality. This fund will have lasting benefits for our residents, especially for our seniors and our families,”

The $1 million from this legislation will be managed by Invest Atlanta through an Economic Opportunity Fund- Food Access fund to create food access points across desired districts to attract grocers of various formats and sizes. Invest Atlanta will ensure that these funds will support the research documenting the need for grocery stores highlighting the significant difficulties communities face when looking to attract grocery store developments and drawing new grocery stores into historically underserved areas of the city.