Atlanta’s Food Forrest Helps To Heal a Community While It Sets A Standard For America’s Food Desert
Residents of the Atlanta’s Lakewood-Browns Mill community will now be able to pick fruits and vegetables — for free.
Because under the directive of Mayor Kiesha Lance Bottoms – Atlanta recently passed a measure that will convert an undeveloped plot of land into a food forest that will include food-producing trees, shrubs, and vines.
For years, thousands of Atlanta residents have lived in areas that don’t provide easy access to fresh food — places called “food deserts.”
The Urban Food Forest seeks to bring fresh produce back into local neighborhoods, hopefully serving as a model for other cities.
Neglected for decades, the residents of the Browns Mill community have historically lived below the poverty line in one of Metro Atlanta’s food deserts — an area where it’s difficult to find fresh produce and other household grocery items. To improve conditions, Atlanta recently passed a measure to convert a plot of undeveloped land into a food forest, where residents will be able to pick their own fresh produce for free.
About 23 million Americans live in food deserts across the nation. Not eating fresh foods can lead to major health problems over time, contributing to diseases like diabetes and obesity. What’s more, it’s an epidemic that disproportionately affects certain populations, such as people of color and Americans in rural areas, as a 2010 report published by the nonprofit organization The Food Trust found:
2010 report”According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adult obesity rates are 51 percent higher for African Americans than whites, and 21 percent higher for Latinos. Black and Latino children are more likely to become obese than white children. The lack of healthy food retail also hinders community economic development in neighborhoods that need private investment, activity hubs, and jobs.”
But things are beginning to change for the residents of the Browns Mill community. Because From the time the Food Forrest was clear to the planting of the first seed in neighbors were receptive and helpful.
Hopefully Atlanta will serve as a model for all of America and begin initiatives like the Food Forrest to aid their marginalized and at risk communities.
This program shows how vision, compassion, teamwork can positively impact a community and hopefully Nation.
