CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER
AUBURN/OPELIKA — Founded in 2018, the Nourish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization co-founded by local pediatrician Katie Wolter and Beth Hornsby of Hornsby Farms of Auburn. The foundation’s mission is to employ a multidisciplinary approach to improve the health of the community, and it has two main initiatives for doing so: Nourish, AL and Nourish Wellness.
Through Nourish, AL, the foundation delivers fresh produce boxes containing an average of 20 to 30 pounds of fruit and vegetables each week to food-insecure families in the Auburn/Opelika area. The goal is not only to provide physical nourishment to families in need but also to build relationships, provide hope and nourish their whole selves.
Nourish Wellness, a pediatric wellness center for children and their families, is a collaboration between the Nourish Foundation, Auburn University’s departments of Hunger Solutions, Social Work, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dietetics and Kinesiology, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and East Alabama Health. Nourish Wellness provides care to children to prevent and treat lifestyle illnesses such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, type-2 diabetes and hypertension. The service includes a nutrition, physical activity and mindfulness curriculum for each patient and family, as well as the opportunity to participate in a monthly community gathering that includes a meal demonstration, a live exercise class and small group discussions to share and build relationships with other families in the community.