In Atlanta the largest urban food forest in the United States with more than 2,500 edible and medicinal plants

In the heart of Atlanta, at the Browns Mill district, a project came to life that is changing the way of conceiving the fight against hunger and food insecurity. With about 7.1 acres of land covered with over 2,500 edible and medicinal plants, the Free Food Forest of Atlanta is the largest urban food forest of the United States, a visionary project that combines sustainability, education and solidarity.

A concrete response to hunger

The food forest was created to face an alarming reality: one out of six inhabitants of the state of Georgia suffers from hunger, while a quarter of the inhabitants of Atlanta lives in real “food deserts”, that is, of the areas completely without access to fresh foods and healthy. In the Browns Mill district, where the nearest food store is thirty minutes by bus, this initiative represents a real still of salvation.
The numbers are clear: so far, over 1,000 volunteers have contributed to growing this space, which freely offers fruit, nuts and vegetables to its visitors. As Michael McCord says, one of the project managers: “Every corner of the forest is an opportunity to learn, whether it is agriculture, sustainability or biodiversity.”

The rebirth of a forgotten place

Once family -run farm, the ground on which the Free Food Forest stands had been abandoned for years, leaving room for wild nature. Large trees of pecan walnuts, roughs of blackberries and screws of Moscato have become the starting point for the transformation. Thanks to the collaboration between the Conservation Fund, the Office of Sustainability and Resilience, Trees Atlanta and local residents, an innovative park has been created that integrates community flower beds, orchards, paths and meeting spaces.
The approach adopted is that of agriforestation, a method that combines trees and crops to improve soil health, reduce erosion, capture rainwater and promote biodiversity.

Benefits that go beyond food

The Free Food Forest is a place where you can find and collect fresh foods, but it is also an educational and social hub. In fact, training programs for Green work have been activated, thanks to the collaboration with the Greening Youth Foundation, which offered paid courses to residents. Many of them, after training, found employment in the management of the forest.

The advantages for the community are manifold:

A model to follow

The Atlanta food forest is a tangible example of how it is possible to transform problems into opportunities. Atlanta is not alone in this company: cities such as Seattle, Portland and Asheville are undertaking similar initiatives, but the Browns Mill district stands out for the scale and its remarkable impact.
Looking to the future, the Urban Food Forest of Atlanta is a candidate to become a global model for the integration of food resources in urban development plans. It is the demonstration that even a simple meal can become the symbol of a stronger community, where food, from nourishment, turns into hope.