Food as Medicine: Donors support a new approach at Grady Health System

Jesse Hill Market donor recognition wall at Grady Memorial Hospital.

In what was an unused space in the parking deck outside the main entrance to Grady Memorial Hospital in downtown Atlanta, there is now a bright and welcoming spot to get a nutritious meal. The Jesse Hill Market opened in 2020 as a partnership between the Grady Health System, Open Hand Atlanta and the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Here, patients, hospital staff, and visitors are able to access healthy foods. Grady patients with food prescriptions may visit the Food Pharmacy and participate in nutrition education and cooking classes. Donor support helped realize the food as medicine approach.

Heurista worked with the Grady Health Foundation to design donor recognition that is aligned with the casual, welcoming nature of the space. A little background on the project accompanies the donor lists. All donor recognition content is printed directly on plywood resulting in a bright and playful outcome that coordinates with the furniture and fixtures in the space. The design was planned to be inclusive, celebrating the partner organizations, individuals, and corporations who helped bring this innovative idea to life.

Written By Anne Manner-McLarty, December 28, 2020

Anne Manner-McLarty is the managing editor of the Journal of Donor Relations and Stewardship and the founder and lead strategist of Heurista. Created in 2011, Heurista is the leading resource for consulting specific to donor relations and stewardship, with particular expertise in the donor recognition strategy, program design, and implementation.