As food costs rise and safety nets strain under shifting federal benefits, thousands of families across metro Atlanta are being forced to make impossible choices between health, education and hunger.
In response, the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (FDHA) has launched a new food security collaborative backed by a $150,000 initial investment aimed at strengthening coordination among community organizations serving residents facing hunger across Fulton and DeKalb counties.
The grant funding is expected to help partner organizations serve an additional 1,200 people each week, supplementing food distribution efforts already underway at the community level, according to the hospital authority.
Rather than distributing food directly, the hospital authority is positioning itself as a convener and coordinator, bringing together organizations with deep experience in food sourcing and neighborhood-based distribution.
“We’re not going to be involved in the day-to-day food distribution,” said Jevon Gibson, CEO of the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority. “Day-to-day food distribution is… not our work.”
Gibson said the authority’s role is to strengthen the broader food security system by aligning efforts, identifying gaps and sharing resources among partners already working on the ground.
“Our work is really coordinating and convening their efforts,” he said. “We recognize that we’re uniquely positioned to bring multiple organizations together.”
The initial round of funding will support six organizations: SCLC W.O.M.E.N.; Big Bethel AME; First African Community Development Corporation; South Atlantic Conference, Seventh Day Adventist Church; New Life Community Alliance/ATL; and Antioch Urban Ministries. Short-term grants will run through Jan. 31, 2026, with plans for expanded, longer-term funding in 2026.
Gibson said the collaborative emerged amid concerns about food access following disruptions to SNAP benefits and rising food costs.
“We knew the snap funding was being cut, was temporarily suspended, and we knew that there would be a need,” he said.
At the core of the effort is a belief that hunger is inseparable from health. Gibson emphasized that food insecurity complicates medical care, education and long-term health outcomes.
“Is it easier to teach a hungry child or a child that’s full?” Gibson said. “Hunger drives behavior.”
He added that patients facing hunger are often forced to make impossible choices.
“If it’s a choice between getting my medication and getting food, it’s Maslow’s [Hierarchy of Needs],” he said.
Gibson’s commitment to food security is deeply personal. He traced his motivation to childhood experiences in the Bahamas, where he witnessed extreme hunger firsthand.
“I remember the first time that I went [to a landfill site], we pulled in and we backed the truck up, and we’re pushing rotten fish off the back of the truck,” he said. “And then I noticed the people just came walking out of everywhere, and they were picking up that fish to eat it.”
He recalled seeing a severely malnourished child at a landfill site.
“There was a child who was clearly emaciated,” Gibson said. “Couldn’t be any more than two.”
That moment shaped his understanding of hunger as a root cause of illness.
“I remember thinking, why doesn’t somebody just give them food so they don’t get sick,” he said.
As a hospital authority, the FDHA operates differently from many health-related agencies. It serves as a liaison between government entities and health systems, including Grady Health System, while also managing endowments and pursuing initiatives aimed at medically vulnerable residents.
“Hospital authorities are generally administrative bodies that serve as liaison between hospitals and government entities,” Gibson said.
He said the authority’s mandate extends beyond administration.
“We take a deep dive into learning and adapting and finding ways to make health available,” he said.
Partners were selected through a series of planning conversations involving faith-based leaders, community organizations and food security experts, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
“We had a four-hour planning session, a strategy session to assess who was doing what, where, how and with whom,” Gibson said.
Community members who want to support the effort can do so by volunteering or donating through the partner organizations already serving residents across Fulton and DeKalb counties. While the hospital authority does not distribute food directly, it plans to help raise awareness of local food access points and opportunities to get involved.
“There are multiple volunteer opportunities that are available,” Gibson said.
As the collaborative expands, the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority also plans to develop a centralized database of food distribution sites and volunteer opportunities, making it easier for residents to find nearby resources and for community members to support organizations addressing hunger at the neighborhood level.
“This is temp funding,” Gibson said. “We intend to do longer-term funding with more partners in the first quarter of next year.”
