Amplifying Community Voices to Enhance SNAP-Ed Programming in Georgia

In 2023, the Public Health Institute’s (PHI) Center for Wellness and Nutrition (CWN) partnered with the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) to engage local community-based organizations (CBOs) across the state of Georgia to conduct listening sessions (CLS) with SNAP-Ed eligible adults. For the community listening sessions, CWN and DFCS targeted underserved communities that have little or no existing SNAP-Ed programming. Five qualified Georgia CBOs—New Life Community Alliance, Prevent Child Abuse Bulloch, Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, SOWEGA Rising and Step Up Savannah—were selected to host listening sessions with residents from the communities they serve.

PHI’s CWN and the CBOs facilitated guided discussions to gain a better understanding of each community. Participants brainstormed the strengths and challenges related to supporting healthy eating and physical activity as well as solutions that might help people overcome these challenges and live healthier lifestyles. Through a voting process, they prioritized the following recommendations to improve SNAP-Ed services in Georgia:

• Prioritize expanding SNAP-Ed nutrition education to rural communities in Georgia.
• Consider establishing cross-sector partnerships to increase access to grocery stores and safe physical activity opportunities.
• Increase access to fresh produce through community gardens.
• Increase access to fresh produce by working with existing grocery stores and retailers.
• Provide more opportunities for authentic community engagement.
• Increase access to affordable, quality produce in communities with a high SNAP-Ed eligible population.

Results of these community listening sessions will be used by the Georgia SNAP-Ed Community Advisory Board to prioritize and fund projects that reflect the needs elevated by the community members who participated in these sessions. These results will also be shared at the Georgia Public Health Association Annual Conference in May of 2024.

To learn more and read the full summary from each of the Community Listening Sessions, see below:

• Prevent Child Abuse Bulloch – CLS Summary
• Step Up Savannah – CLS Summary
• SOWEGA Rising – CLS Summary
• Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia – CLS Summary
• New Life Community Alliance – CLS Summary

A version of this impact first appeared in the Center for Wellness and Nutrition Annual Impact Report for 2023.