Everyone Eats Foundation works to feed Atlanta’s underserved

Atlanta native Summer Johnson founded Everyone Eats Foundation in 2017 when she and her friends decided to make the charitable work they’d been doing to feed their homeless neighbors an official foundation. They worked for years to provide food to their communities, and then when the pandemic hit in 2020, they saw that need grow and change.

“I knew my neighbors would be negatively impacted and in need of immediate assistance. I had some food at home like rice, veggies, chicken and canned goods plus to-go plates and cutlery, so I cooked what I had and made it available for the Pittsburgh [Atlanta] community,” Johnson said. “Within the following week, World Central Kitchen partnered with us, and our nonprofit was able to feed 100 people daily.”

Everyone Eats Foundation focused on Atlanta food deserts and underserved communities, such as the Bankhead and Pittsburgh neighborhoods. People who received their services spread the word, wrote thank you notes and penned testimonies about what the assistance mean to them and their lives.

“Food is a basic need,” Johnson said. “Families were dependent on us and were able to afford their rent among other things because we took care of some of their critical needs.”

The next step for Everyone Eats Foundation is a building, for which they received funding from Anthem Blue Cross Blue shield. Johnson is also CEO of Fillanthropy, a garden-to-table-to-people restaurant that she hopes to open soon.

“When we open up our community restaurant, we hope to bring an end to food insecurity and transform our community’s food deserts to a sustainable food system,” Johnson said.