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. 

The Farmer Fund, which was established in 2015 and has been managed by the nonprofit Georgia Organics since 2018, is aiming to help farmers recoup losses from Winter Storm Elliott, which hit the United States in December 2022 and brought brutally cold temperatures to much of the country.

“Farmers are used to having cold nights and covering things. But this was multiple days of deep, deep freeze,” Georgia Organics CEO Alice Rolls said. Rolls heads up the nonprofit which helps the state’s organic farmers, especially when the weather turns against them.