Family Farm Share weekly seasonal contents. Photo by Kimberly Della Donna.
WAYCROSS PILOT PROGRAM
The Waycross Family Farm Share Pilot has received a Community Transformation Grant of $75,000 from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) to address childhood food insecurity for children ages birth to five in Waycross.
Waycross Family Farm Share Pilot is comprised of Action Pact, WayGreen, Inc., Ware Children’s Initiative, and Georgia Organics. These partners will collaboratively develop a low-cost, weekly fresh food box program with farmers that are specifically designed for families of young children at Action Pact’s Head Start campus.
The goal of this initiative is to increase access to local, organic, in-season, and healthy food while educating families about how to prepare and enjoy their weekly bounty from Ware County farmers.
Connie Oliver, Founder of WayGreen, Inc.; Carol Clarke, Training and Literacy Specialist for Action Pact; Dr. Shelli Tyre, Deputy Director for Action Pact and Board Member for Ware County Children’s Initiative.
“The Family Farm Share Program will be a great addition to our Head Start program’s focus on the education, nutrition, and health of the children and families we serve in Ware County.
“Action pact already has strong partnerships in place with WayGreen and the Ware County Children’s Initiative and we look forward to working with our local farmers to provide fresh, healthy foods to those we serve.”
- Bryan Singleton, Executive Director, Action Pact
“What I love about Family Farm Share is we’re meeting families where they’re at, within their daily routines at daycare and early care centers, while connecting small farmers to new markets close to their farms. We hope to make Waycross a model that other communities can adapt and make their own.”
- Suzanne Girdner, Community Outreach Manager, Georgia Organics
WHAT’S NEXT?
The project commenced in August 2021, and work is underway identifying local farmers for participation. Beginning in early November, Family Farm engaging participating farmers and early care families to discuss their needs and preferences for fresh food. Progress and stories of the pilot program will be shared on this page and on Georgia Organics’ social media.
“We know that if we teach healthy eating habits to kids when they are young it is much more likely those habits will stay with them throughout their lifetime. The collaborative partners of the Ware Children’s Initiative work hard to ensure that all children in Ware County grow up healthy. The Family Farm Share pilot is a great opportunity to expand our work by increasing our families' access to fresh local affordable food.”
- Gail Seifert, Coordinator, Ware Children’s Initiative
ABOUT THE GRANT
The Waycross Family Farm Share Pilot is one of eight local collaboratives to receive a DECAL Community Transformation Grant. The recipients were selected from a group of 34 partnerships that participated in a rigorous application process.
“We are proud to support this important project through a Community Transformation Grant,” said DECAL Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs.
“It will help to advance our efforts to improve both the access to and quality of vital early education services for our youngest learners and their families across the state.”
The Community Transformation Grants are funded from the three-year, $11.2 million Preschool Development Renewal Grant (PDG) Georgia was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education in January 2020.
The federal grant allows Georgia to design and implement activities to help ensure that children from ages birth to 5 in the state have access to high-quality early childhood programs and services.
