The City of East Point has made it official! With a unanimous vote, East Point City Council adopted a new City Agriculture Plan — the first of it’s kind in the Atlanta region. Implementation is now underway!
Keep up with their journey by visiting East Point Grown or signing up for our newsletter.
Closing Out The City of East Point Grant
East Point Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham cutting the ribbon at the Community Compost Drop off program kick-off event with CompostNow and Food Well Alliance at ArtsXchange.
In fall 2023, the City of East Point successfully closed out their USDA Regional Food System Partnership Grant. Since becoming the first city in metro Atlanta to develop a City Agriculture Plan in 2021, East Point has achieved remarkable milestones including:
Establishing a Local Food Ecosystem Commission & local food brand "East Point Grown"
Sponsoring and hosting over 50 events for 3,500+ community members
Directly investing in over 20 Local Food System partner organizations
Providing technical assistance to make local growth sustainable
A total of $628,000 was invested in the implementation of East Point’s City Agriculture Plan, including a $250,000 USDA grant, $228,000 worth of monetary and in-kind support from Food Well Alliance, and $150,000 of in-kind support from the City of East Point. Download our one-pager for more information on the outcomes of the USDA Regional Food System Partnership Grant.
These accomplishments underscore the positive impact of City Agriculture Plans, and we look forward to witnessing the transformative changes these initiatives will further bring to East Point and other communities implementing City Agriculture Plans.
To follow East Point’s progress, connect with their Community Agriculture Program on East Point Grown.
City Agriculture Plan Complete!
With a unanimous vote on April 19, 2021, East Point City Council adopted a City Agriculture Plan. The initial draft of the plan – developed throughout 2020 by a steering committee comprised of East Point community leaders, local growers and city planners – was created in partnership with Atlanta nonprofit Food Well Alliance (FWA) and Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). The steering committee worked with City Council during the first part of 2021 to arrive at the final version of the plan, which has been adopted as a component of the Community Goals section of the city’s Comprehensive Plan through 2030.
Members of the steering committee and city officials, along with reps for Food Well Alliance and Atlanta Regional Commission, joined Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham to celebrate passage of the plan.
Meet the residents, farmers, businesses and government officials who came together and made it all happen.
Steering Committee Begins Planning
The Steering Committee met for the first time on January 23 at ArtsXchange in East Point to officially begin the process of creating a City Agriculture Plan for East Point.
Phase II of creating the City Agriculture Plan for East Point is officially underway. Led by Atlanta Regional Commission, the Steering Committee met for the first time on January 23 to begin working together to create a City Agriculture Plan for East Point. The Steering Committee will meet at least six times between January and June.
East Point residents Fitzgerald Smith Jr, “Brother” Reynaldo Holmes, and Tenisio Seanima on stage with Food Well Alliance Executive Director Kim Karris to accept their nominations for the City Agriculture Planning Steering Committee.
Meet East Point’s Community Delegates
On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, ten East Point residents presented their case for why they should be chosen for the City Agriculture Planning Steering Committee at event we call Community Choice Night. Attendees voted for three amazing candidates, who will begin working with Atlanta Regional Commission on a formal City Agriculture Plan beginning in January, 2020.
The Community Delegates for the Steering Committee are:
“Brother” Reynaldo Holmes
Tenisio Seanima
Fitzgerald Smith Jr
Congratulations to the delegates and to the community! These delegates joined nine other East Point community members to form the Steering Committee for the City Agriculture Plan for East Point.
East Point Selected to Pilot New City Agriculture Plan
Congratulations to the City of East Point!
East Point will pilot metro Atlanta’s first City Agriculture Plan with Food Well Alliance and the Atlanta Regional Commission. After a thorough exploration process with seven metro cities earlier this year, the City of East Point has been selected to pilot the new City Agriculture Plan.
“We are thrilled the City of East Point will be joining us in this exciting new endeavor,” said Food Well Alliance Executive Director Kim Karris. “We believe that East Point is uniquely poised to take bold steps and become a national model for urban agriculture. The work begins today, and it couldn’t come at a more crucial time. Metro Atlanta is one of the fastest growing regions in the country, and our cities are rapidly becoming more developed. This threatens the long-term viability of community gardens and farms. The City Agriculture Plan paves a way for city officials to work directly with growers and community leaders to determine the policies, ordinances, and programs that will move the needle most effectively.”
What’s next?
The plan will begin with a community engagement and asset mapping phase led by Food Well Alliance, followed by a six-month planning process undertaken with support from Atlanta Regional Commission. Once the plan is developed, Food Well Alliance will guide the implementation of the plan and provide a minimum of $75,000 in funding to help the community bring it to life.
East Point is Ready!
“We are truly humbled and honored by being selected to create and implement the first City Agriculture Plan in the region,” said City of East Point Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham. “This amazing partnership with Food Well Alliance and the Atlanta Regional Commission will be impactful and transform our City. The intense focus on community engagement and leadership throughout our City Agriculture Planning process will help ensure sustainability of the projects implemented to systemically address our food access challenges.”
“The City of East Point is extremely excited about its partnership with Food Well Alliance,” said Maceo Rogers, CEcD, Director, Department of Economic Development for the City of East Point. “It marks the beginning of a new collaboration between the City, residents, businesses and metro area organizations all uniting together to take a holistic approach to transforming the overall health of the community through access to local food production, community gardens, and farms.”
“Local agriculture is a key part of developing healthy communities,” said Sam Shenbaga, manager of ARC’s Community Development Group. “ARC is proud to support community agriculture and put our resources behind initiatives that improve our region starting at the local level.”
The plan will do exactly what its name says: bring growers, community leaders, and city officials together -- guided by the planning expertise of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) — to develop city-wide plans that prioritize urban agriculture.
The end goal? Thriving community gardens and urban farms providing greater access to locally grown food across the metro Atlanta Region, which translates to healthier people, environments, and communities.
This time of year is typically filled with plenty of family gatherings and a lot of cooking. That can also mean a lot of food waste. Those scraps can also help local farmers put more food on your table. Good Day's Lindsay Tuman got an inside look at the partnership helping turn your trash into a nourishing treasure.