The words in the front lobby of Open Hand’s new headquarters say it all: “We cook. We deliver. We teach. We care.”
Now Open Hand is bringing that healing energy to the Westside at its new home in the Grove Park community., where it has been since August.
Its new headquarters on West Marietta Street is a significant development, moving from its former campus along Armour Drive industrial area in the more prosperous northeast side of Atlanta. Its new facility is 43,000 square feet compared to 27,000 square feet at its former location.
“I’m so proud of this facility,” said Matthew Pieper, CEO of Open Hand. “I really do believe we have one of the best state-of-the-art kitchens in the country. This has always been about how we can serve more people, not only in metro Atlanta but all over Georgia. We have greater capacity to help more people and achieve our strategic growth goals.”
Pieper said the new facility will give Open Hand the ability to triple production over time, and it predicts that demand for its meals and services will increase by 50 percent in the next five years.
Open Hand had its largest capital campaign ever, “The Healing Power of Food,” raising $19.5 million for its new home, which has eight loading docks — seven more than it had — space for a culinary training workforce development program, a 100 percent increase in warehouse space and a 75 percent increase potential for cold storage.
The campaign received significant support from institutional funders in Georgia’s philanthropic community, including the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the James M. Cox Foundation. Funding also came through New Markets Tax Credits from Invest Atlanta/Atlanta Emerging Markets and Truist, which provided $3.2 million towards the campaign goal.
The new home is called the James A. Carlos Family Community Nutrition Center in recognition for the longtime support of Jimmy and Helen Carlos, who served as honorary co-chairs of the campaign. Pieper insisted to have the Carlos family name placed on the building.
“They gave one of our lead gifts,” Pieper said. “They are just all in.”
The new home will enable Open Hand to continue to expand its nutritious meal delivery services statewide. Currently, it delivers 5,000 meals a day, nearly 1.5 million a year, with the help of 17,000 volunteers in its database.
As Pieper sees it, “food is medicine. Food is love.” It’s particularly important for Open Hand to serve people in less affluent communities. Open Hand is offering cooking classes so people can learn how to make more nutritious meals.
“We teach them to prepare a meal in a healthy way,” Pieper said. “This is still an economically depressed area that’s beginning to turn around. There’s a disproportionate level of chronic diseases for communities living under the poverty line.”
Open Hand is just the latest nonprofit that has moved to or expanded its operations in the Westside – sparking opportunities for more collaboration between various organizations.
“We have received a really warm welcome from the Grove Park Foundation,” Pieper said. “We want this to be a place for the community. We are inviting the community in. There’s so much happening on this side of town.”
Gavin McGuire, executive director of the Grove Park Foundation, said many organizations and nonprofits are focused on the Westside. It also helps that Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is targeting several Westside communities (including Grove Park) as part of his initiative in seven neighborhoods in the city.
“A lot of nonprofits are coming here,” McGuire said. “As we build more buildings and more housing, it’s important to also build people. Many nonprofit leaders are working together to see how we can expand our impact. There’s been some good energy over here in the past several years.”
John Ahmann, president and CEO of the Westside Future Fund, said there has been a concerted effort to establish a philanthropic community.
“The collective services these nonprofits are providing are very much needed on the Westside,” Ahmann said. “The philanthropic and nonprofit sectors are trying to fill that need.”
A prime example is 970 Jefferson St., a former home of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Civic leader Bill Bolling helped arrange for the building to continue to serve the community. It is now the Westside Future Fund’s home along with Food Well Alliance and about a dozen other nonprofits and local enterprises.
“We wanted to preserve it as a community hub so that nonprofits could serve the Westside and create community,” Ahmann said.
There is a long list of nonprofits now operating in the Westside of Atlanta, with many of them headquartered there.
They include: the Atlanta Humane Society, the Atlanta Ballet’s Michael C. Carlos Dance Centre, City of Refuge, the regional headquarters of the YMCA of Greater Atlanta, Families First, the Covenant House, Quest Impact Center, Hands on Atlanta, Raising Expectations, the Atlanta Beltline Partnership, the Giving Kitchen, Second Helpings Atlanta, Urban Recipe, Georgia Peach Truck, the Agape Youth and Family Center, PAWKids — a neighborhood community hub as well as the Study Hall.
Pieper is looking forward to partnering with Open Hand’s new nonprofit neighbors. He said the prevailing spirit is to lift up the lives of people who live in the community.
“They are making sure the community’s legacy residents aren’t being pushed out,” Pieper said. “We want to be part of that effort.”
