Shannon Lee, The Conservation Fund Parks with Purpose ProgramOver in Atlanta, there is a seven-acre farm where people can just walk into a deep and dense forest, take in some fresh air, and even pluck and pull some crops just in time for their next meal. At one point, this farm was a pecan farm. This farm is now called the Urban Food Forest at Browns Mills and it has over 2500 medicinal and edible plants that are available for anyone who needs it.
Recently, there’s been a push to create more free-food forests in many cities across America, as both organizations and citizens attempt to come up with private and public solutions surrounding food insecurity, poverty, hunger, and geographic distribution.
For example, Sustainable America prepared a report on the rise of community food forests and talk a great deal about the benefits of such forests, such as food generation and natural conservation. Plus, these food forests can become a family-friendly community hub, especially in the generations to come.
The problem isn’t too drastic in Atlanta compared to other cities, but the USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas (FARA) has estimated that one in every four people, at least around 125,000 people in Atlanta, live in areas that are identified as “food deserts”. Food deserts are basically areas where people live too far away from any local grocery store.
The Urban Food Forest in Atlanta is the nation’s largest free-food forest. It was created in association with the Conservation Fund, the city of Atlanta, and the U.S. Forest Service. Even though it is no longer a pecan farm, it can still help many people with its variety of foods and herbs.
Located right in Browns Mill, which is just a 10-minute distance from the Atlanta airport, it’s a much more efficient and eco-friendly alternative to obtaining food compared to walking, busing, or driving to the nearest grocery store. I’m sure that some of the 2100 residents would benefit from such an amazing initiative.
A local arborist by the name of Michael McCord identified that healthy foods and green spaces are important for humanity, the economy, and the planet. This type of food forest is what is generally called permaculture and more specifically, “agroforestry”. “Agroforestry” is basically a word that describes how people are combining the efforts of foresty with fielding/farming, in such a way that benefits all parties while address climate change.
The process to convert the pecan farm to a free-food forest was straightforward. The large, mature pecan trees there meant that there is enough space underneath the trees to grow some crops without disturbing much of the existing nature.
To date, there have been well over 1000 volunteers, which have involved the efforts of both the community, non-profit groups, and even corporations. Basically, a free-food forest is basically like a park. If you end up in this forest, you can’t help but respect the nature that is laid out in front of you, as well as the abundance of crops that will help those who in need of fresh produce. Plus, the people in Atlanta are good people, so they’ll only take what they need.
If there is food that is left behind, it will be taken care of by the volunteers and distributed towards the wider community. Plus, no one seems to be doing anything untoward either. You can take a look at their project map to understand the layout of the land and the idea behind the project. There are plans to add boardwalks, include edible mushrooms, and a honey production apiary.
It’s cool to think that many people worked closely together to make this a reality. In a sense, the free-food forest is like a public square where the community works together to become the healthiest versions of themselves — one step at a time.
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