Organization feeding thousands in Georgia food deserts

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Maybe you have easy access to fresh food for your family, or maybe you live in parts of Atlanta where fresh fruits and veggies are tough to find.

”We had families waiting at 5 o’clock, 6 o’clock in the morning for us to start,” said Chef Ashley Keyes with C.H.O.I.C.E.S.

MUST Ministries has been feeding people in need for years. A little over a year ago, they put that mission on four wheels. The organization uses a mobile pantry, created to drive into food deserts and eliminate the transportation barrier for families.

”We are working together with Braves Homeplate Foundation, Chick Fil A, there are a ton of partners that come together to make this a really great day for people who are in need,” said Dr. Dwight “Ike” Reighard, President & CEO of MUST Ministries.

The bus was in Southwest Atlanta Friday.

”This community is one of the lower poverty areas in Atlanta. They have two grocery stores but it is still a food desert because if you have to travel more than a mile to get to a grocery store, it is considered a food desert,” said Keyes.

When people don’t have access to fresh produce at grocery stores, they go where they can; many times that means families are trying to get fresh fruits and veggies from places like gas stations.

”We like to show families how they can get fresh produce here at the mobile pantry, how to use it and not let it go to waste,” said Keyes.

More than 2,000 people received food Friday. Each person received a month of groceries.

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