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Sowing Seeds of Hope
Food Well Alliance brings fresh food, sustainability to neighborhoods
City of East Point Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham (top center)
gathers with Food Well Alliance staff and the East Point City
Agriculture Plan Steering Committee. (Photos by Caleb (ones)
By ClareS. Richie
Food Well Alliance (FWA), Truly Living
Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture
(TLW) and WABE are hosting the 7th annual
Soil Festival on Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m. to 3
p.m. atTLW’s urban farm in West Atlanta.
Attendees will be able connect with
the cycle of locally grown food through
workshops, cooking demos, kids’ activities and
more. Tickets are available at foodwellalliance.
org.
“What excites me most is teaching people
who haven’t planted before or showing them
how easy it is to compost at home,” said Carol
FFunter, TLW Executive Director. “We are
here to teach people to grow their own food
for self-sufficiency, health and helping the
environment.”
Atlantans are eager to gather again and
engage with local growers as evidenced by
the February fruit tree sale hosted by FWA,
Concrete Jungle, Community Farmers
Markets and the Community Orchard
Coalition.
“We had over 400 people come out to
buy trees and sample food and teas made with
local fruit,” said Kate Conner, FWA Executive
Director. “For us, it’s really about bringing
community together and local food is the tool
for that.”
With the fruit tree sales proceeds, support
from The Giving Grove and a Direct Relief
grant, the coalition just planted 18 new
orchards that donate a percentage of fruit
to those in need, including at: Campbellton
Community Garden, Gardens at Camp Creek
and Whitehall Terrace Community Garden.
“It was so popular we will probably open
a fall application for more orchards,” Conner
said. “It’s all about getting the right partners in
place, figuring out the model and going from
there.”
FWA is a collaborative network striving
to build equitable local food systems by
providing resources to local growers and
engaging in policy. What started in 2015
as an idea by Jim Kennedy, chair of Cox
Enterprises, and Bill Bolling, founder of
the Atlanta Community Food Bank, today
supports more than 120 community gardens
and 35 urban farms in Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb,
Gwinnett, and Clayton counties.
Working with partners, FWA offers
a range of resources - tools, mechanical
support, labor support, volunteers, compost,
Markets, plus clients who use the warehouse
or need cold storage — like Gangstas to
Growers and Atlanta Mission,” Conner said.
When access to flexible funds is needed,
FWA steps in. The nonprofit just awarded 65
community gardens with a $1,500 grant and
30 urban farms with a $5,000 grant.
For Atlanta FFarvest that flexibility was
critical when their Jonesboro farm lease
dissolved in 2020. EliYahu Ysrael asked FWA
to shift their grant funds to a down payment
on land in Ellenwood.
“We said ‘absolutely’” Conner shared.
“This is a family farm that they own and can
invest in for generations.”
The Ellenwood farm is thriving with fruit
trees, added infrastructure and expanded farm
stand hours.
“Opportunities for urban farms to
purchase and own land within Atlanta are
few and far between,” Ysrael said. “To find an
organization that truly believes in us and what
we want to do for our community has been a
dream come true. We are so grateful to FWA
for their trust in our family’s vision.”
As density and development increases,
and funding. Take labor, for example. Using
sustainable farming practices is labor intensive.
So FWA offers metro Atlanta farmers different
options of support: a l-to-4-person crew from
Eco-PARADIGM, labor stipends to cover
their own laborers or volunteer support.
“Collaboration and partnership to support
this movement is huge to us,” Conner said.
“Our role is bringing the resources together
under one umbrella.”
FWA and Westside Future Fund have
partnered to create that literal umbrella at the
970 Jefferson Street building. This former
Atlanta Community Food Bank location is
now a collaborative hub of offices, warehouse
space and cold storage.
“What was once a giant food warehouse,
accommodates many mission-aligned
nonprofits, like Second FFelpings Atlanta,
The Giving Kitchen, Urban Recipe and
Community Farmers Markets’ Fresh MARTA
other metro Atlanta’s farms and community
gardens are vulnerable. That’s why, FWA
works with the Atlanta Regional Commission
(ARC), local growers and municipalities to
ensure that urban agriculture has a voice in
city planning.
“Partnering with the Food Well Alliance
has been a gamechanger for urban agriculture
and building a local food ecosystem here in
East Point,” said East Point Mayor Deana
FFoliday Ingraham. “Through the guidance
and support of the Food Well Alliance
and Atlanta Regional Commission, we’ve
established a City Agriculture Plan that
provides a framework for equitable access
to healthy food in East Point which can be
a model for cities of similar size.” Now in
the implementation phase, East Point has
leveraged its $75,000 FWA grant with a
$250,000 USDA grant.
The City of Alpharetta is up next and has
26 APRIL 2022 | Id
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