Food Well Alliance, Westside Future Fund reflect on first year of 970 Jefferson - SaportaReport
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With about 25 percent of Atlanta residents living more than half a mile away from fresh food, the Food Well Alliance (FWA) and Westside Future Fund (WFF) envisioned creating an affordable space for like-minded organizations to work alongside each other in the Westside. Together, the teams established 970 Jefferson St. NW — a hub of collaboration and food innovation with 19 nonprofits and local businesses under one roof. The space’s doors opened in the fall of 2021 and, now in its second year, the two leadership teams are reflecting on its impact.
In 2019, FWA and WFF teamed up to purchase the warehouse and office space at 970 Jefferson, the former home of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The space serves as a physical embodiment of the two nonprofit’s missions, with WFF’s commitment to revitalizing the Westside and FWA working to foster an equitable, local food ecosystem.
“[The building offers] a place to execute our mission in the [Westside] neighborhood,” WFF President and CEO John Ahmann said. “The other [benefit] is our offices do more than just serve us. Primarily, we want this building to be of service to the community. We want [WFF] to be a caboose to a long train.”
