A federal grant could help Atlanta provide low-income residents with access to fresh food by providing more resources to the city’s urban farmers.
On Monday, the Atlanta City Council accepted a $450,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture that would expand the city's AgLanta Grows-A-Lot program for three years. The city will match 25% of the grant, bringing the total effort to $600,000.
City leaders want to have 85% of residents within close access to fresh foods by 2022.
Established in 2017, the Grows-A-Lot program helps Atlanta-based growers create an urban garden or farm. Through the program, residents can apply for a five-year, renewable license to adopt vacant city-owned property to grow crops on. The crops are then given to local grocers.
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The funds will be used to establish new markets for local farms and ranches, according to the legislation It will also pay to make physical improvements to existing farms, including irrigation, fencing, signage and clean soil.
“We try to improve and expand and provide outreach and training to local growers,” said Shelby Buso, the city’s chief sustainability officer.
Atlanta native Chris Lemons is one of the farmers in the program and co-manages Gratitude Botanical Farm in the Peoplestown neighborhood. While Lemons and his partner primarily fund their operation themselves, he said Atlanta’s program has provided him with tools, such as a BCS tiller which allows him to break and clear land quicker.
Lemons hopes the city uses the federal dollars to purchase more land to help with food insecurity issues; have in-house tools that farmers can access; or build a greenhouse.
“It would allow farmers to do their own plant starts and grow seedlings which can be a heavy cost for farmers to absorb,” Lemons said of the greenhouse.
Buso said part of the funds will go toward promoting farmers and food businesses in the Grows-A-Lot program. The city will also work with communities to develop a strategy that will best benefit them.
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