Atlanta - On March 27-28, Georgia will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of AmeriCorp VISTA.  The 50th anniversary will spotlight the historic role AmeriCorps VISTA has played as an ever-innovative solution to building community and ending poverty. But more than that, it is an opportunity for us to look ahead at the future and find new ways that VISTA can be part of the solution. Events will include: Food Access for All Summit and the Food Access for all 5K Fun Runa and Walk (https://foodaccessforall5krun.eventbrite.com).

The CNCS Georgia State Office and one of its projects, Truly Living Well Center for National Urban Agriculture will host a Community Summit and 5K Walk/Run to raise awareness of urban food access issues and to  profile the  Boulevard Food Coop (BFC), a successful community based initiative that is alleviating food insecurity in Bedford Pines, one of the city's neighborhoods with high levels of poverty.

The Community Summit (March 27) will use Boulevard Food Coop as a case study to demonstrate how multilevel community engagement can create solutions for reducing hunger.  BFC is an outcome of Atlanta Councilman Kwanza Hall's YoBoulevard! initiative to turnaround the Boulevard Corridor, an area of high crime, poverty and hunger. In 2012, a coalition of residents, faith and community based organizations and local government worked together to effect measurable improvement within the Bedford Pines 2600 low income community on Boulevard. After residents identified hunger as a major barrier in overcoming poverty. In 2014, TLW's AmeriCorp VISTA members galvanized residents to begin BFC. Summit participates will have an opportunity to consider replicable elements that may benefit other communities.

The Food Access for All 5K Walk/Run will follow a course from TLW along Boulevard to Whole Foods on Ponce de Leon.  This route traverses an urban food desert, an area with limited access to fresh produce. At the Whole Foods turnaround, participants will receive bags of food to simulate the challenges persons living in food deserts face to access food.

To register for the Food Acces for All 5K Fun and Run and walk please visit: https://foodaccessforall5krun.eventbrite.com