Antrica Feaster | Faithful Fields Community Garden

From left: Andrea Young, Antrica Feaster, First Lady Davida Locket, and Reverend Larry J. Lockett.

Antrica Feaster

Faithful Fields Community Garden

Mableton, Cobb County

Twice a week in Mableton, Antrica Feaster and volunteers Andrea and Shontay work in the garden beside Words of Faith AME Church. Starting early to beat the midday heat, they water rows of plants, weed beds, and pick produce. Today the garden is full of life and fresh food, but just a year ago it was an empty lot.

When Antrica envisioned Faithful Fields Community Garden, she saw a place where people could access fresh, local food. At Words of Faith AME Church, their motto is “a church without walls”. So when she brought her idea to Reverend Larry J. Lockett and First Lady Davida Lockett, they both welcomed the project. “We are embarking on what we’re calling Outrageous Outreach,” said Davida. “The garden is just one of the ways we’re doing it. The garden is a ministry in and of itself. It’s getting people in the mindset of church being with you and everywhere you go. This is the way we’re showing our love for our community.”

In Mableton access to fresh, healthy food is limited. “The closest grocery store–a real grocery store–is like two miles away,” said Reverend Lockett. “We’re in a food desert, and this garden helps folks that can’t get access to food.” 

At Faithful Fields, every harvest feeds the community. Fresh produce is shared with neighbors who stop by the garden and distributed through the church’s Danny Woods Community Food Bank, an Atlanta Community Food Bank partner.

But starting the garden wasn’t easy. “Our biggest challenge, honestly, is the clay soil,” said Antrica explaining what it took to get the garden to its current state. “Getting the soil cube through Food Well helped a lot just to get everything started, to get that baseline nutrition into the soil.” Through the 2025 Garden Improvement Grant from Food Well, Faithful Fields was able to get their herb garden started, purchase tools, and build an entry gate for the garden. They also received over 60 fruiting plants as part of the Orchard Project this year. Additional support came from Oikos Institute for Social Impact, Seed Savers Exchange, and High Mowing Seeds. 

Antrica welcomes anyone who wants help in the garden and loves to interact with the community that passes by, offering up fresh food to anyone who needs it. One father brings all eight of his children, the youngest just two years old, to volunteer in the garden. They help plant the sweet potatoes that are growing now. “They come and eat all the berries,” laughed Antrica. “When we had peas, they would come and eat the peas and the cucumber and tell us what they were going to make when they got home.”

Faithful Fields is already making an impact, but Antrica sees even greater potential. She wants to expand the community garden beds, plant tea and herb gardens, and create pathways and seating areas and build a teaching kitchen to show people how to cook with what they grow.

Giving back is at the heart of everything the garden and church does. Donations play a key role in ensuring they can continue the garden and feeding the community. “Every time you give $1, every time you give a smile, every time you give something out of the charity, you encourage someone else to do the same thing,” said Antrica stressing the importance of giving. “If we can see more people giving, then that will encourage more people to give and do better things with things they’re given.”