As 2024 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to look back on the last 12 months at Urban Recipe, with gratitude to all who were part of it. But more than that, we look together to the future, working together to promote food security and dignity through intentionally designed community-driven food cooperatives.
Promoting Food Security
The biggest impact we can talk about at Urban Recipe is not the number of pounds distributed or the number of new co-ops we opened, it’s about the time and consistency of food co-ops. Two of our co-ops are three decades old. One of our co-ops celebrated its 10th birthday in 2024. Combining our 10 active co-ops and all of their anniversaries, our active co-ops have been open for a cumulative 91 years! That is not including the other co-ops that existed for a shorter time, or were trained by Urban Recipe and are running independently.
Hundreds of families were served through Urban Recipe co-ops this year, and we are humbled and grateful to be an integral part of so many people’s lives.
This year, we changed our tagline to “A Recipe for Food Security.” We built a new website, designed a new logo, but ultimately wanted to affix our eyes on our mission: food security. At Urban Recipe, it’s not about the numbers. It’s about the impact on individual lives. Co-op members come to Urban Recipe ready to take change into their own hands. They volunteer their time, they grow in leadership and communication skills, they take responsibility for their families. Our food co-ops provide a recipe for food security, and our co-op members follow that recipe and see their lives changed.
We hear stories of medical bills that can be paid and rent that is no longer overdue. We celebrate with families as they have babies, send graduates to college and get new jobs. We mourn with them as they suffer the loss of family and friends. Urban Recipe Food Co-ops not only prioritize equitable food access, but also focus on relationship building and participation in decision-making. When we look at 2024, we are grateful for our entire community that continues to make Urban Recipe a thriving food secure community in Atlanta.
Celebrating Community
This year, we celebrated with our community. We were the recipients of Chick-fil-A’s True Inspiration Award for our work with creating food security through food co-ops, acknowledging our impact in our local community as one of the 5 Southeast Regional Winners. We partner with Chick-fil-A through our Mobile Pantry, and in 2024 delivered 408 Mobile Pantry boxes directly through a Chick-fil-A restaurant, and an additional 3,000 boxes through the Home Plate Project, presented by the Atlanta Braves Foundation and Chick-fil-A. Additionally, we have had 56 volunteers from Chick-fil-A serve in our warehouse.
We also celebrated with our community at Tummy and Soul, our annual fundraiser party! With 175 guests – including donors, partners, volunteers and co-op members, we celebrated the recipients of our Growth and Gratitude Award – St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church and Dodd Sterling United Methodist Church. These two organizations together have been helping create food security with Urban Recipe since 2020, and in 2024, are on track to deliver 7,020 boxes of groceries this year to their community. At Tummy and Soul, we also celebrated the sustained security co-ops provide, and had co-op members in attendance who have been relying on food from Urban Recipe for over three decades.
A Look Ahead as the Year Closes
Looking to the future, we plan to continue this focus on the person, which is a joy to do with our committed co-op members. We aim to deepen our impact, serving those in our food co-ops and expanding our reach through Cooperative Pathway Program training. We will continue reaching out through our Mobile Pantry, connecting more individuals with our co-op model. We are grateful for the growth we have experienced in 2024, and are excited to root deeper in 2025.
We can’t wait to share more with you! Make sure you’re on our mailing list to receive the full, detailed 2024 Impact Report in January.
