The Georgia Hunger and Health Summit: Designing for Our Future

On October 28 - 29, 2024, the CDC Foundation and nine leading health, food security and economic development organizations–with funding from the Georgia Health Initiative -- convened The Georgia Hunger and Health Summit: Designing for Our Future, in Atlanta, Georgia. The summit convened top experts and key stakeholders to foster collaboration, forge new partnerships and spark innovative solutions to hunger-related challenges, marking a significant milestone in the enduring efforts to address food and nutrition insecurity through the Hunger, Nutrition and Health Action Collaborative.  

A welcome was provided by Cindy Zeldin, Vice President of Health Policy & Government Affairs with Georgia Health Initiative. As an independent, non-profit, privately funded foundation, the Initiative supported the summit to bring together people and organizations who share the vision of improving health in Georgia.  

Best-selling author and entrepreneur Trabian Shorters delivered the keynote address, “Asset-based Framing for Our Future,” emphasizing the importance of creating narratives that focus on people's strengths rather than deficits and offering a renewed perspective on addressing social challenges.

With a message of long-term change in the state of Georgia, the summit was designed to create authentic connections, shift mindsets and navigate the challenges of food insecurity into the future. To facilitate deeper connections between attendees, the summit included a broad range of perspectives through panel discussions and exchanging ideas with new partners.

Panel discussions included:

·       Innovative Partnerships to Prepare Us for the Future: This panel brought together experts to discuss collaborative approaches to food security.

·        Designing Change: Advocacy for a Future Without Hunger: The panel focused on advocacy strategies and initiatives to combat hunger in Georgia.

·        Designing a Future Food System with Local Voices: This panel highlighted the importance of including local perspectives in shaping future food systems and decisions.

The Georgia Hunger and Health Summit: Designing for Our Future provided the opportunity to address the root causes of food and nutrition insecurity in Georgia. The Hunger, Nutrition and Health Action Collaborative sees the event as a model for other communities who are working on these issues and to build on existing efforts across the U.S., providing communities with additional tools, strategies and connections to address their local challenges.  

The summit concluded with a powerful call to action delivered by Kyle Waide, CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, sharing his perspective that while the solutions for ending hunger and food insecurity are known, we must have the political will to act on them. Summit participants left both inspired and with deeper connections and commitment to share learnings and continue building partnerships–commitments expected to ripple through Georgia's communities, driving continued efforts to build a resilient and food-secure future for all residents.

Designed in partnership with Leslie Marshburn, Grady Health System | Melissa Haberlen DeWolf, Voices for Georgia’s Children | Matt Pieper, Open Hand Atlanta | Will Sellers, Wholesome Wave Georgia | Bill Green, The Common Market | Wande Okonoren-Meadows, Hand,Heart, + Soul Project | Sarah Phillips, Georgia Health Initiative | Jeff Collins-Smythe, ARCHI | and Kyle Waide, Atlanta Community Food Bank.

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