Nearly 1 million people in Georgia face daily hunger, a nutritional void that contributes to widespread chronic illness. A growing Atlanta nonprofit is battling that cycle, one healing meal at a time.

Open Hand Atlanta recently received accreditation for its medically-tailored meal program—home-cooked, dietitian-designed meals rich in nutrients that address chronic health issues—delivered to people struggling with health and hunger. The service is free, and for recipient David Gardner, it's helping more than his body recover.

"I'm a little kid from Tennessee that really loved comic books and TV," Gardner said. He moved to Atlanta during the COVID-19 pandemic, hoping to work in the entertainment industry as a publicist like he did in Los Angeles. 

"I felt that I could come back here and kind of reconnect," he said.

But in 2022, a long-misdiagnosed nervous system infection landed Gardner in the hospital and permanently damaged his eyesight.

"There was a period where I was fully blind, housebound for big periods of time," Gardner said. "When things got really bad, I just didn't even have money for food."

He remembered an organization he once volunteered with: Open Hand. Now, meals arrive weekly.

"It pretty much takes care of lunch and dinner," he says. "I feel healthier. I look healthier."

Gardner's favorite?

"One of the meals I really love for lunch is the pork. And so one of the things I like about it is there's lots of protein in it."

Cooking meals that heal in Atlanta

In the nonprofit's Westside kitchen, volunteers prepare meals fresh every day for people like Gardner.

"Delivering food is one thing, but delivering healthy food is something totally different," says Aleta McClean of Open Hand Client Services. "They don't have to purchase groceries. They maybe can buy their medicines now. They don't have to worry about transportation, getting to the store, because we're delivering the meals directly to their home."

Tufts University researchers bolstered the case for medically tailored meals with a sweeping simulation: If every U.S. state implemented these programs for people with diet-sensitive conditions, the nation could save approximately $32.1 billion in healthcare costs in just one year and avert more than 3.5 million hospitalizations annually. The study found MTMs would be cost-saving in 49 states.

These meals can be transformative. For Gardner, they mean security, health, and a path back to his passions.

"The drivers have become really cheerleaders," he says. 

Garner has undergone two cornea transplants—one successful—and now has enough vision to return to work and volunteer.

"I found out the beginning of this year that I'm going to be a pirate for the rest of my life… but I like to say: pirates get things done," he said. "I might edit a little slower, but, really, it's just magnification."

After this three-year health struggle, he's finally stepping into the spotlight again.

"I'll be heading up their film festival on the 25th," Gardner said of the Out On Film Festival happening at the end of September. "These are really baby, you know, sustained baby steps in having a full life again."

Gardner's recovery is slow but hopeful. Healing didn't happen all at once. It came one bite at a time.

Open Hand is working to expand access across the entire state. To apply or learn more, visit OpenHandAtlanta.org.