Healthy Food for All! ATL’s Municipal-Powered Grocery

Join Just Communities for a live conversation on how Mayor Dickens’ administration is translating principles into practice with the opening of the city’s first municipal-backed grocery store.  Learn how your city can boost access to healthy food in underserved areas through this public-private innovation.

Overview

Healthy communities must have healthy food.  Yet many cities still have food deserts due to long-standing disinvestment.

For decades, access to healthy food evaded Atlanta’s south side communities. When one national grocery chain after another declined to serve Atlanta’s majority- Black population, the City rose to the challenge.

Azalea Fresh Market isn’t just another grocery.  In these times of federal funding cuts and corporate price gouging, It’s a testament to the power of cities to save themselves.

What You Will Learn

Participants will explore:

How municipal leadership can address food deserts through structural intervention.
How the Azalea Fresh Market model was developed.
How public-private partnerships can expand food access.
Lessons that other cities apply to strengthen community health and economic resilience.

About the Speaker

Katie Molla serves as Deputy Chief of Staff to Mayor Andre Dickens in the City of Atlanta, where she oversees initiatives impacting the safety, well-being, and flourishing of more than 500,000 residents.

Katie brings experience in nonprofit consulting and federal policy to her work advancing equitable municipal leadership.