ATLANTA – State Representative Jimmy Pruett (R- Eastman) recently helped organize the Food Hub Project Meeting, hosted by the Milan Development Authority, on June 6, 2012, in Milan, GA. The meeting was an informational session about the Food Hub organization and ways in which food hubs can better the community.
“Watching groups such as UGA, The Arthur Blank Foundation, Georgia Organics, and Fort Valley College all come together with the Milan Development Authority to support the Milan Food Hub Project is exciting, and I am certainly glad to be a part of it,” Rep. Pruett reported after attending the meeting. “These groups are passionate about creating awareness and coming up with action plans to impact generational health, fight childhood obesity and create economic growth in rural Georgia.”
Food hubs are designed to be ecosystems used to revitalize local, rural economies by connecting small to mid-size farmers with local area businesses. Food hubs are also intended to bring healthy food choices to communities, thereby helping to combat childhood obesity.
The recent Food Hub meeting in Milan was lead by Stewart Douglas, who works for the Milan Development Authority. After first hearing from Mr. Douglas, Rep. Pruett used his experience with the “Farm to School” program to help Mr. Douglas contact key individuals within the state who could help Milan move forward in creating a local food hub. This development is part of Rep. Pruett’s efforts to help communities develop their local economies and his work to fight obesity through supplying local areas with fresh fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers.
“As for many small communities, in Milan we have felt the effects of a strained economy and turbulent times,” said Stewart Douglas. “We recently inquired into the potential for starting a local Food Hub as a project to bring economic vitality back to our community. I called Representative Pruett to see if he could assist in finding resources to assist in launching our project. To my delight, I found that he is very informed and active in promoting local food production programs. He is especially focused on programs to address child obesity issues. Within one month, Representative Pruett helped organize and attended a local meeting with food production system experts from the state of Georgia and two universities. This meeting to launch our project was a huge success. When we present a workable idea to Representative Pruett, he always provides guidance to get results.”
Representative Jimmy Pruett represents the citizens of District 144, which includes Bleckley, Dodge, and Wilcox counties and portions of Ben Hill and Pulaski counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2006, served as one of Governor Perdue’s Floor Leaders and currently serves on the Appropriations, Children & Youth, Economic Development & Tourism, and Industrial Relations committees.
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