Regional food and innovation hub coming to vacant Albany grocery store

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - Leaders with the Southwest Georgia Project said they need your help with bringing a new regional food hub to Albany that will combat food insecurities.

A regional food hub is a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers, to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand.

In 2015, the organization was gifted the old Winn Dixie on Oakridge Drive and now they plan to turn it into a store where folks can access locally grown food, while receiving health advice from wellness coaches.

Leaders said the recent closing of Harveys in South Albany has made them want to push for the new hub.

Organizers said they are in the process of starting a fundraiser and need the community’s support to get things started.

“Dougherty County is in the top one percent of food deserts in the United States. We want to challenge Dougherty County, city and county officials to come out and support, figure out how we can help make this a real valuable option for people here in Dougherty County,” said Amber Bell, Program Director for the Southwest Georgia Project.

Bell said they hope to open the food innovation hub by 2020, but they need $500,000 to develop the new site.

Copyright 2018 WALB. All rights reserved.