This month, 150 fresh fruit and vegetable boxes made their way to Georgia families. Made possible by a generous grant and the support of friends like you, Wellroot distributed the boxes across our programs, a tangible sign of a community showing up for the children and families we serve.
Those boxes arrive when families need them most. Every child deserves a summer of fun and adventure, yet when the school year ends, so do the breakfasts and lunches many children count on. Without them, summer can quietly become the hungriest season of the year, just as families take on the cost of more meals at home while balancing childcare and summer camps.
To reach families where they are, that support is going even further. Beginning July 1, Wellroot will deliver food boxes straight to families’ doors, removing barriers such as transportation and competing work schedules. Ninety-three families have already signed up, and funding is in place to reach 200 in all. This work is carried out alongside two valued partners, Retaaza and Open Hand Atlanta.
“Making sure our families have access to nutritious food makes a huge difference in the healing process,” said Wellroot President and CEO Allison Ashe. “We could not do this important work at such a crucial time without support from our generous donors. We are so very grateful.”
This effort builds on a commitment that began last December. At our family Christmas celebrations in Tucker and Gainesville, Wellroot partnered with Eat Right Atlanta to bring a mobile farmers market to families, who took home more than 2,000 pounds of fresh produce.
We are building on that first initiative with a layered approach that includes direct food access and emergency nutrition support, evidence-based nutrition education and life-skills training, and community-centered partnerships. Across these efforts, we estimate the initiative will reach nearly 1,000 children, youth, and caregivers, including foster families, families in crisis, and young people transitioning out of foster care.
Food insecurity rarely happens in isolation. When caregivers are not worried about the next meal, they can focus on parenting, employment, and building the nurturing homes children need to thrive.
For Natasha, a single mother of two daughters in Wellroot’s Healthy Families program, this support came at a critical moment. Balancing work while caring for her girls and navigating delays in SNAP benefits, she often struggled to keep food on the table. Through Wellroot, Natasha received consistent support, access to nutritious food, and relief during the holiday season. With those burdens eased, she has been able to focus on building a stable, hopeful future for her family.
Wellroot is also investing in lasting change. At The Oaks, our transitional living community, a new teaching kitchen gives young adults hands-on practice in cooking, budgeting, and meal planning. Through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, offered with the University of Georgia Extension, mothers in our Healthy Families program are gaining skills in meal planning, healthy cooking, and grocery budgeting that strengthen their families for years to come.
Food is more than nourishment. It offers comfort, restores dignity, and creates stability where hope can grow. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, more Georgia families will gather around a fuller table this summer, knowing they are not facing hardship alone.
