Atlanta's Historic Westside Garden - Combatting the Issue of Food Deserts

One my most favorite organizations that I'm involved in at school is Goizueta Impact Investors. We have a small fund that we use to invest in organizations that are working to make a difference in the Atlanta area. One of the organizations that we had the opportunity to meet with this year was The Historic Westside Gardens. It's a super interesting organization that seems like a unique way to address some of the issues that are faced in food deserts.

The mission of the organization is to organize food production by the community, for the community to remove barriers to access fresh, healthy food and promote self-determination, individually and collectively.

The organization was founded in 2010 and began with one garden on Elm Street and put 10 residents of Vine City through a 60 day training in urban agriculture, self-help, and entrepreneurship. In 2013 another garden was added at Delbridge St. and Vine St. and in 2014 a third garden was launched at Odyssey Villas apartments which spurred the development of GLEN - Garden Links Empower Neighborhoods.

GLEN consists of multiple levels - home gardens, clusters of home gardens, neighborhoods, and the entire west side. Each level involves different resources and programming to address the community needs.

The saddest thing to me about last week's class discussion was how the lines between classes and race are so clear when looking at the locations of food deserts in Atlanta. A 2015 article in VICE interviews Ron Finley, who convinced LA City Council to allow fruit and vegetable plots on public parkways. He views urban gardening as a model for local business. "You're showing someone life skills, you're showing them how to take care of themselves, and you're showing them how you can grow resources. We've been taught all our lives that money doesn't go on trees—but it does. Billions and billions of dollars grow on trees every day. We need to have people realize that this apple you just grew is currency. It's not about being frivolous and getting your hands dirty—it's about changing people's lives and employing people. This is a way you can be self-sustaining. "

I think that's what's so amazing at HWG. They go beyond just teaching residents to grow food and help show them how it can be turned into money as well through farmers markets. It seems like a small act but this can actually create real results. An 8-year old girl in LA transformed her garden from a way to help her family eat better to actually paying bills. Learning business skills along with improving access to food is a valuable lesson that can influence generations to come.