CCBOH offers summer WIC Farmers Market. Above, Brooke Walker of North Georgia WIC and Tom Pinson of the Gaston Community Center where a WIC Farmers Market was held last month in Dalton.

An important determinant of overall health is access to fresh foods. A recent report published by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) titled, "Fresh Food Versus Fast Food: A Look at Healthy Food Access in Metro Atlanta," finds that fast food locations in the metro area outnumber grocery stores three to one and that people who live near grocery stores and other places that sell fresh produce have a lower risk of obesity and other diet-related diseases. The reports also shows that in general, residents living along the Ga. Hwy. 400 corridor have the best access to grocery stores, while residents living in west Atlanta and south of Interstate 20 have the highest access to fast foods.

That's why the Clayton County Board of Health (CCBOH) is once again offering its summer WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Farmers Market  Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the summer at the front entrance of the board's Jonesboro facility.

CCBOH clients already enrolled in WIC will have the opportunity to receive vouchers, which can be used toward the purchase of produce at the WIC Farmers Market. The general public is also invited. (cash sales only).

For more information about WIC or the WIC Farmers Market in Clayton County, call (678) 610-7637. For information about Georgia WIC, call 1-800-228-9173.

-Story by Joel Hall, Public Information Officer/Communications Coordinator, Clayton County Board of Health