About
The purpose of the MACHN (Metro Atlanta Coalition for Healthy Neighborhoods) is to collectively combine resources and health and wellness change agents across metro Atlanta to impact the whole person. This approach focuses on restoring health, promoting resilience, and preventing diseases across a lifespan.
In metro Atlanta, life expectancy varies considerably by neighborhood. In 2020, the average life expectancy in Georgia was 75.6 years1. The life expectancy of a person living in the zip code 30315 in Lakewood Heights can be 11 years less than someone living just 12 miles away in the zip code 30309 in Midtown Atlanta. This data reflects the direct correlation of how social support, financial resources, education, employment, and stable housing – all classified as health disparities - directly impact Atlantans’ ability to access adequate health care, engage in healthy behaviors, and live in a healthy environment. These disparities are not addressed in traditional clinical and preventive health care, but they have a large influence on health.
As a result, the MACHN is committed to supporting community-driven efforts that advance health equity – the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Each organization that is a part of the coalition has a mission that is centered around health equity.
Purpose
About the Metro Atlanta Coalition for Healthy Neighborhoods
MACHN is a coalition made up of the American Heart Association, Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority, Lucky Shoals Community Association, Retaaza, and Wholesome Wave Georgia. We are an Alliance for Combined Action…A Coalition for Good; with a goal to collectively combine resources as well as health and wellness change agents across metro Atlanta to impact the whole person. This approach focuses on restoring health, promoting resilience, and preventing diseases across a lifespan.
MACHN Partners
From humble beginnings, the AHA has grown into the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. A shared focus on cardiovascular health unites our more than 35 million volunteers and supporters as well as their more than 2,900 employees.
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer worldwide, and stroke ranks second globally. Even when those conditions don’t result in death, they cause disability and diminish quality of life. We want to see a world free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
Our size and scope let us have real impact. The AHA has invested more than $5 billion in research, making us the largest not-for-profit funding source for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease research next to the federal government. Learn more about our life-changing funded research breakthroughs.
The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (FDHA) was established to ensure that all residents of Fulton and DeKalb Counties have fair and equitable access to quality health care regardless of their social and/or economic condition. Our mission is through collaboration with Grady Health System and innovative strategies, we will improve health outcomes in Fulton and DeKalb Counties. Our vision is that the FDHA will be a resource for creative solutions that support the delivery of quality and innovative healthcare and preventive services to ensure health equity for all residents of Fulton and DeKalb counties.
We strive to promote health and wellness by actively seeking opportunities to strengthen the continuum of prevention and care resources available to residents of Fulton and DeKalb Counties. Working collaboratively with Grady and a cadre of committed community partners, we are focused on closing the gaps in our health ecosystem. As a hospital authority, a large subset of our efforts centers around ensuring that the under-resourced and underserved residents of Fulton and DeKalb are connected to quality prevention and care services and resources.
Lucky Shoals Community Association, Inc. (LSCA) is community based-organization based in unincorporated Norcross, GA in Gwinnett County. Its mission is to support community and economic development that actually benefits the diverse, but under resourced community who live here – a community that is over 85 percent BIPOC and nearly 50 percent immigrants - rather than simply extracting resources for others. LSCA's work has included providing resources for community health work, environmental and climate change adaptation, housing assistance, and transportation.
Retaaza is a social enterprise that strives to make local food more accessible and affordable, directly supports our communities' farmers, reconnects consumers to their food and planet, and feeds families struggling with food insecurity.
Our Retaaza Rx program forges connections between farmers and community members. Our solutions assist hungry neighbors by creating a pipeline of fresh, healthy foods straight from the farm and into the hands of food-insecure individuals and families. At the same time it strengthens the economic stability of local farmers and rural communities while preventing food waste on the farms, leading to a more sustainable solution and healthier planet. We believe impact can be made across multiple stakeholder groups and goals with smart solutions.
Wholesome Wave Georgia believes that all Georgians in need should have access to fresh, healthy, locally grown food choices.
In Georgia, over 1.4 million people are considered food-insecure and receive federal nutrition assistance including SNAP benefits. The high cost and low accessibility of fresh foods leave these households with limited options to feed their families. Food insecurity is linked to poverty, obesity, and other diet-related illnesses. The effect of food insecurity on America’s families is evident: approximately 65% of adults and 34% of children (ages 2 to 19) are overweight or obese.
Wholesome Wave Georgia encourages us to rethink the cost, accessibility, and affordability of fresh, nutritious foods in our state. Our mission is to increase access to and awareness of healthy food choices for all Georgians in need through local farmers and community partners.
We work towards our mission through our core programs: Georgia Fresh For Less, Georgia Food For Health, Georgia SNAP Connection, and Georgia Plant 2 Plate.