Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia partnered with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to announce the grand opening of Atlanta’s newest community resource food pantry and community garden. This is part of Anthem’s continuing efforts to address social drivers of health by tackling food insecurity across the state.

“At Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, our focus is on improving lives and communities, and addressing food insecurity is one of the most important ways we can work to ensure our communities are as healthy as they can, and should be,” said Robert Bunch, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia. “This partnership truly demonstrates our desire to provide broader access to resources that are vital for overall health, and we look forward to providing continued support to make sure this facility and efforts to address food insecurity in this state are successful.”

Located on the west side of Atlanta, Everyone Eats Foundation will serve communities in need across metro-Atlanta thanks to a $150,000 grant from Anthem that helped the organization secure a facility to house a food pantry, community garden, and a restaurant/soup kitchen.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1 in 8 persons (13 percent) are food insecure in Georgia, and 1 in 6 of these are children. The lingering impacts of the pandemic and inflation are putting further pressure on people that are in need.

This grant makes possible a community pantry that will provide individuals and families with access to fresh, nutritious food. Through the community garden, individuals and families will be able to help grow and access fresh vegetables and develop valuable self-sustaining skills they can apply at home. Produce from the garden will also be incorporated into meals provided in the restaurant/soup kitchen.

“We are excited to kick-off our partnership with Anthem and expand our footprint here in Atlanta,” said Everyone Eats Foundation founder Summer Johnson. “The connection of these critical organizations will enable us to reach more of the population that will benefit from the learned skills of healthy eating and wellness.”

Over the past six years, Everyone Eats has helped more than 32,000 families in need through a unique blend of events, mobile delivery, and pop-up markets to bring food and other services to residents throughout Atlanta.