Catching the Wholesome Wave
Written by Marie Nygren, Posted in Linton Hopkins, marie nygren, Serenbe Farms, Wholesome Wave Georgia
I have been encouraging you to attend this year’s Southern Chefs Potluck on August 5, benefitting Wholesome Wave Georgia, and there’s more to the story than just the delicious food, fun fellowship, and over-the-top auction items. It’s important to share the broader story of the good this organization is doing in our great state and in states across the country.
Rows of organic produce at Serenbe Farms |
Wholesome Wave programs, in 28 states and the District of Columbia, improve the accessibility and affordability of healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables.
Because they say it so well, following are the mission and vision statements from the national Wholesome Wave website.
Wholesome Wave’s mission is to improve access and affordability of fresh, healthy, locally grown produce to historically underserved communities. Doing so creates economic viability through local food commerce that can rebuild our nation’s food system.
Our vision is to help lead the way in developing a more vibrant and equitable food system for everyone by fostering stronger relationships between local and regional agriculture and under-served individuals from both urban and rural communities.
Closer to home, “Wholesome Wave Georgia (WWG) believes that all Georgians should have access to good, wholesome and locally grown food. Our goal is to increase access to good food for all Georgians while contributing to the local food economy. By doubling each federal or state nutrition benefit (SNAP, WIC, SFMNP) dollar spent at our partner markets, we leverage existing government food nutrition programs to encourage shopping at local farmers markets.
Fresh-from-the-farm tomatoes |
The execution of the Wholesome Wave Georgia program is very simple: Every nutrition benefit dollar spent at a WWG partner market becomes two dollars for the shopper and for the farmer. This means more money for farmers and that more Georgians gain access to good, wholesome and locally grown food.”
Perhaps armed with this information, you now have a better understanding of why the Southern Chefs Potluck is an important event for our state. I hope you’ll join me on August 5. Together, we can do great things for all Georgians.
Purchase your ticket today for the Southern Chefs Potluck
Chef Linton Hopkins and me |
Tune in to CBS during the 9:00 a.m. hour this Friday, August 3, to Better Mornings Atlanta. Chef Linton Hopkins and I will be doing a segment on Sunday’s Southern Chefs Potluck.