The ACRE Collective: Advancing Agriculture, Community, Resilience & Equity through Values-Based Procurement recently launched in Georgia. The ACRE Collective centers on garnering food purchasing commitments from Atlanta-area anchor institutions, while shifting procurement to producers that share these institutions’ values.

Advancing Agriculture, Community, Resilience & Equity through values-based procurement

Schools, hospitals, corporations, and other community institutions can affect positive social change through intentional procurement practices. By incorporating food purchasing standards that align with core values, institutions can influence public health outcomes, boost regional economies, mitigate climate change, and improve racial equity via their food purchasing decisions.

 

Acre Collective Institutional Food Service Chef

What does The ACRE Collective do?

Builds market demand.

• Via diverse programs and experience-informed strategies, we build demand for values-based food procurement from Atlanta area institutions like public schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, and community organizations.

Supports farmers.

• We provide land access, technical assistance, grants, and capacity building for farmers, particularly farmers of color, interested in selling to wholesale markets to meet the growing demand from Atlanta-based institutions.

Distributes food.

• We aggregate food from local and sustainable family farms and distribute the food directly to institutional customers.

Case Study: Year 1 The Georgia ACRE Collective

The Georgia ACRE Collective is Advancing Agriculture, Community, Resilience and Equity (ACRE) through Values-Based Procurement as an Atlanta, Georgia-based coalition of local and national organizations that share a vision for more vibrant and equitable regional food systems. The coalition evolved in 2022 through a year-long planning process within the local food community that included state, federal and local governmental agencies, institutional buyers, food as medicine practitioners and food system funders in facilitated brainstorming sessions. These stakeholders expressed a desire to come together to improve racial equity, health equity, economic opportunity, and environmental sustainability through strong procurement relationships between local anchor institutions and historically disadvantaged farmers. By incorporating food purchasing standards that align with core values (i.e. diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); climate action), anchor institutions can affect positive social changes through intentional procurement practices. This report reflects their collective efforts from Year 1, November 2022-November 2023.

Read Report

Celebrating Commitment

Episcopal Web 8 Saladbar 1

 

We applaud the following Atlanta-based institutions for making forward commitments to our socially disadvantaged farmers, producers and ranchers in the past year. Their decision to align their purchases with their values (diversity, equity and inclusion, climate, small, local businesses, etc.), should serve as an example for what is possible when institutions use their purchasing power for good.

  • Morehouse College
  • Agnes Scott College
  • Google
  • Oglethorpe University
  • Mercer University
  • Northside Hospital
  • Northside Hospital Cherokee
  • Northside Hosptial Forsyth
  • Scottish Rite Hospital
  • Egleston Hospital
  • Emory Decatur Hospital

Get in touch

We are eager to partner with Atlanta area institutions, farmers throughout the Southeast, and community partners to improve our regional food and farm systems. For more information, contact The Georgia ACRE Collective Project Manager, Emily Hennessee at emily@thecommonmarket.org.