Doing ‘Something More’ to Make a Difference in Stewart County

March 25, 2025 Print This Post

“The ultimate in creativity is not to invent something entirely new, but to take what you have and make it do something more. That’s our goal—to take what resources and programs we already have for children and make them do something more.”

This is what Gov. Zell Miller said in 1991 when Georgia’s leaders adopted a bold new vision to improve services for children and families: Georgia Family Connection. Edwina Turner, Stewart County Family Connection coordinator, is living out this charge by making existing resources do something more to address poverty, food insecurity, limited access to physical activity, chronic disease, low literacy, and other deeply rooted problems. Doing something more with existing relationships is also making a difference in Stewart County.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Stewart County ranked 18th out of 3,141 counties in the nation in 2021 for the number of people living in poverty—and 45% of those people are children ages 5 – 17. The county, where more than 75% of children live with a single-parent family, also has the seventh-lowest median household income in the country.

Beyond that, Georgia KIDS COUNT data reveal that Stewart ranks 147th in health outcomes and 140th for health factors out of 159 counties. With only one grocery store and limited access to health care, broadband internet, and other critical resources, Stewart County has one of the highest chronic disease and obesity rates in Georgia.

“This data indicated a dire need for us to intervene,” said Turner. “Our rural county will always need the services we provide because of all the societal and natural barriers, along with a lack of industry and jobs. We use county data, as well as direct input from community members, to set and revise our local priorities.”

Family Connection meets monthly and encourages community and regional partners to come together to share updates, request assistance, and form partnerships. Out of these touchpoints emerged a partnership with Stewart County Cooperative UGA Extension Office to address some of the county’s daunting challenges.

“UGA Extension’s programming efforts in Stewart County work to equip citizens with the resources needed to improve their quality of life,” said Christina Garner, extension specialist for 4-H Health and Wellness at UGA Extension. “However, it’s not a task that can happen alone and does not happen through one single program or intervention. One of our most important partners is Family Connection.”

Family Connection and UGA Extension are working together to improve access to physical activity and fresh produce, needed resources, and literacy materials through a variety of programs. “Christina and I are passionate about literacy as a pathway out of poverty,” said Turner. “We began this venture promoting youth literacy through engaging and hands-on opportunities.”

One initiative that stemmed from this partnership was the installation of the county’s first Storybook Walks in Lumpkin and Providence Canyon with plans for another in Richland. A children’s book is placed, page by page, along a walking trail—combining outdoor physical activity with reading. They also provide opportunities for neighbors to engage with one another while strolling through the story.

Other efforts include creating lending libraries, developing digital resources like Extension R.E.A.D.S (Reaching and Empowering All Developing Scholars), serving as guest readers for pre-K and Head Start programs, and building home libraries by providing students with books.

Building A Healthy Heart of the Community

“Stewart County lacked all the resources our families needed to improve their quality of life,” said Turner. “The community was without a food pantry, clothing, household supplies, personal items, and other critical resources. There also was no place within the county where residents could safely walk or exercise.”

When Stewart County Commission acquired an old school building that had been abandoned for several years, Family Connection and UGA Extension began renovating the building to establish a community center, with support from the Commission. They also received an additional $18,000 through more investments in the building.

The Fountain B. Wims Community Center was named to honor Daniel Fountain Wims, who passed away in 2024. Wims served as a teacher, coach, high school principal, and the county’s first black superintendent throughout a career that spanned 40 years. This reflects his tenacious passion and commitment to his students’ success in school and in life.

After establishing office space, the first big improvement at the Community Center happened outside. In an effort to address chronic disease and obesity, the team established a large community garden for families to begin harvesting their own vegetables.

UGA Extension began leading gardening and health-based classes while Family Connection partners worked to connect residents with the resources they needed.

Together, the partners and community members installed nearly 1,000 square feet of planting space in over 41 raised garden beds. Since 2021, more than 2,000 pounds of produce have been harvested, with volunteers logging nearly 400 hours.

The Community Center now includes a 4-H classroom, recreation program, clothing closet, food pantry, amenities, and a parking lot designed for exercise, including bike riding.

The location also created a safer place for monthly food distribution, which is now helping 275 families—90 more since moving to the Community Center. A volunteer helped initiate a “First Saturday” event, bringing together community members with health and resource providers.

Turner said the crowning achievement in renovating the building was transforming the old home economics room into a teaching kitchen featuring four fully equipped kitchens. “Both youth and adults use this space to learn vital cooking skills to build a lifetime of healthy habits, which involves connecting our kitchens to literacy,” she said.

The partners accomplished that by creating a program called Extension R.E.A.D.S. and Cooks, which combines literacy with skills learned in the teaching kitchen. Families create and cook four-course meals—appetizer, soup or salad, main dish, and dessert—from a menu created by UGA Extension.

Each course includes a book related to the dish. Families who create a salad, for instance, read a book about growing lettuce. “Each family leaves with four new recipes they’ve cooked along with four new books, which builds their home library,” said Garner.

Turner and Garner have submitted several other grant applications to acquire a freezer for the food pantry and additional kitchen supplies for the teaching kitchen. “Our goals don’t stop there,” said Turner. “We’re also converting another old classroom into a dining room to encourage more family time and engagement.”

A Fantastic Duo

As a result of this partnership, Garner and Turner were honored in 2024 at the National Extension Association for Family and Consumer Sciences’ (NEAFCS) 90th annual session in Tucson, Arizona. They received first place in the nation in the Community Partnership category, which recognizes NEAFCS members for outstanding community partnership efforts in meeting the educational needs and concerns of families through collaboration with groups, agencies, and consumers.

Garner and Turner presented “A Fantastic Duo: The Story of Partnership in Stewart County” at the conference, sharing Stewart County’s history, demographics, key data, and all the initiatives stemming from their partnership.

“We’ve been able to make strides in creating a healthier community with increased access to much needed resources,” said Turner. “While we accepted the award, this partnership’s successes rely on the support of numerous other community partners, local leadership, our Collaborative members, UGA Extension staff, and dedicated volunteers.”

Key contributors include:

• Stewart County UGA Extension staff,
• Stewart County Commission,
• Stewart County Board of Education,
• Stewart County Literacy for Learning, Living, and Leading (L4GA) grant funding,
• Stewart County Road Department,
• city governments,
• Friends of Providence Canyon,
• Sumter EMC,
• Golden Triangle Resource Conservation and Development Council Southwest Georgia,
• Healthier Together CDC funding,
• Literacy Matters,
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers Afterschool Program,
• Stewart County FERST Readers,
• UGA colleges, and
• Morehouse School of Medicine.

“This facility is the only one in the county with these resources available for community members,” wrote Andrea Scarrow, Southwest District director for UGA Extension in a letter of support. “Not only has this team worked toward increasing access to healthier food options and physical activity at the Community Center, they’ve worked to increase the environmental and social capital for healthier living. The team, often referred to as ‘unstoppable in the best way possible’ by the county manager, go beyond realizing short-term behavioral change and actually work to achieve long-term impact with policy, systems, and environmental changes for the Stewart County community.”

If you’re interested in volunteering for any of the programs at the Community Center or would like to learn more, contact Turner at 229-321-2167 or stewartcountyfc@gmail.com, or contact UGA Extension at 229-838-4908 or uge4259@uga.edu.

 

Contact:

Bill Valladares
GaFCP Communications Director
404-739-0043
william@gafcp.org

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