Alpharetta Receives $10,000 Grant to Support City Agriculture

Representatives from the City of Alpharetta at the Alpharetta Farm at Old Rucker Park (Photo: Caleb Jones/Food Well Alliance)

In October, 2018, Food Well Alliance launched an initiative to create City Agriculture Plans for every city in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, and Clayton through a partnership with Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). Seven cities applied, including the City of Alpharetta, and we held local Food Forums to find out what was happening on the ground in each city during spring of 2019. After six months of forums, site visits, and internal deliberation, the City of East Point was chosen to pilot City Agriculture Planning with ARC.

With East Point well underway in their planning, Food Well Alliance wanted to support the incredible work happening in the other cities that applied. To catalyze their work in urban agriculture, Food Well Alliance awarded a $10,000 Opportunity Grant to the City of Alpharetta, which was spent on new fencing for the Alpharetta Farm at Old Rucker Park - an educational farm providing food, classes, and a creative learning space for the community.

Thanks to a new 10’ perimeter fence, the Alpharetta Farm at Old Rucker Park now feels like a wide-open space full of possibility. Previously, each area of the farm - the educational production field, community garden, orchard, and vineyard - was enclosed by plastic fence netting to prevent deer intrusion. This single perimeter fence eliminates the need for that and makes the farm one cohesive space. The new fencing has also allowed for increasing community garden plots from 20 to 36, planting fruit bearing bushes, and installing irrigation.

The next projects include the construction of a cut flower garden area, a 3-part compost system and a chicken coop.  The grant funds were combined with $5,000 raised by the community through the City’s Community Agriculture Program’s annual membership drive, and then matched by the City of Alpharetta.

We appreciate the support and dedication for city agriculture from the City of Alpharetta. Thanks to their incredible team, vision, and residents who are excited about the work, Alpharetta is poised to be a leader in local agriculture. To learn more about how their municipality supports agriculture, visit https://alpharetta-community-agriculture-program.square.site