South Fulton Community Garden Gets Helping Hand from Atlanta Community Food Bank and The Home Depot
Councilman khalid kamau hails The Market Garden as a paradigmatic example of how working class people can live rich lives.
South Fulton community gardeners are ready to begin their spring planting thanks to efforts contributed during a May 18 Volunteer Work Day at The Market Garden. The project was a collaboration between Atlanta Food & Farm PBC, owned by Kwabena Nkromo, the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Community Gardens Project and volunteers from The Home Depot.
The Market Garden, a natural food and health store, maintains one-acre of land in order to provide horticultural literacy and urban agriculture production opportunities to local residents. Located on Old National Highway in District 6 of the City of South Fulton, the store is a destination for natural food, bulk herbs, vitamins and supplements, and fresh juicing and smoothies.
During the volunteer work day, participants tackled a number of tasks including cleaning herb jars, planting corn and watermelons, turning compost piles, moving blackberry bushes, painting tires and more. With these tasks removed from community gardeners’ to-do lists, they can now concentrate on their individual plots and other projects that require more skill.
“Community gardens are essentially living entities and just like our bodies, they need periodic check up for deeper maintenance than done regularly by the garden members,” said Nkromo, who has worked with The Market Garden for several months to help manage the garden and attract resources and partnerships.
“This volunteer work day allowed us to shift the garden more fully from the relatively dormant season of winter to the more active and vibrant season of spring. It was improved both aesthetically and enhanced in terms of production capacity.”
The volunteer work day also received support from Councilman khalid kamau, who has partnered with Nkromo and others to launch the South Fulton Food Policy Council. The group is working on an economic development plan for the new city focused on local businesses and sustainable agriculture.
“The Market Garden is a paradigmatic example of how working class people can still live rich lives,” said kamau. “Your community doesn’t need a Whole Foods to have access to whole foods. By growing our own food, and working with a network of local farmers and community gardens, we can provide the same quality, organic foods that children in privileged neighborhoods have access to.”
“We can distribute that food to locally-owned restaurants that serve locally-sourced, avant garde cuisine at affordable prices,” he continued. “We can use sustainable agriculture to redistribute wealth, and keep our dollars in our community.”
To learn more about The Market Garden and how to become a community garden member, visit www.themarketgardenatl.com or stop by at 5790 Old National Highway. The South Fulton Food Policy Group will hold an interest meeting on May 24 at 6:00 p.m. at The Farm at Wilkerson Mill. Details are available on the group’s Facebook page.
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