City of East Point to pilot new City Agriculture Plan across metro cities of Atlanta
Trying to have a sustainable urban-agriculture, the collaborative network of local food leaders, Food Well Alliance is heading up a new program which they believe will be a game-changer for urban agriculture in cities across metro Atlanta. After a thorough exploration process among seven Atlanta metro cities earlier this year, the City of East Point has been selected to pilot the new City Agriculture Plan. The City Agriculture Plan aims to do exactly what its name says: bring growers, community leaders, and city officials together. The team full of leaders will be guided by the planning expertise of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) to develop city-wide plans that prioritize urban agriculture.
Atlanta, the Sustainable Game Changer
- The plan is expected to begin with a community engagement and asset mapping phase led by Food Well Alliance, followed by a six-month planning process undertaken with support from ARC.
- As the City Agriculture Planning process gets in progress in East Point, six other metro Atlanta cities: Alpharetta, Clarkston, Hapeville, Lawrenceville, Lovejoy, and Pine Lake, rallied to pilot the program will receive funding and support to catalyze their own urban agriculture initiatives.
- “We believe East Point is uniquely poised to take bold steps and become a national model for urban agriculture,” said Food Well Alliance Executive Director Kim Karris
- The City Agriculture Plan has an end goal to thrive community gardens and urban farms providing greater access to locally grown food across the metro Atlanta region, which further translates to healthier people, environments, and communities.
Since 2015, Food Well Alliance has invested nearly $3 million into 150 local food organizations that are building healthy, equitable communities across the 5-county region. Beyond local food production, gardens and farms are critical spaces for community health, vitality and resilience.
