Metro Atlanta Urban Farm
After a decades-long career with UGA Cooperative Extension, Bobby Wilson dreamed of creating an urban farm in metro Atlanta that would serve marginalized and underserved communities. In 2009, he took his retirement money and created Metro Atlanta Urban Farm (MAUF), a five-acre farm in College Park where they organize and support multiple programs including feeding families, educating students on career opportunities in agriculture, and teaching people how to grow food.
Address: 3271 Main St, College Park, GA 30337
Hours: Monday-Friday 9-5pm
Phone: 404-788-2432
Bobby has been involved with Food Well Alliance since its inception by participating in the planning committee and several advisory boards. “I feel really strongly that Food Well Alliance is bringing a different perspective to urban agriculture than any other organization has brought to the table,” said Bobby. “I think Food Well Alliance is creating a model program for other cities to implement, and by doing that we can enhance and expand urban agriculture in Georgia and the nation.”
This year, Food Well has supported MAUF through labor support as well as farm and community garden grants. Bobby can now provide stipends to individuals who help with the community garden site and training programs. During the height of the pandemic, MAUF was feeding close to 150 people a day, and while those numbers have decreased, Bobby still makes it his mission to feed anyone who needs it. “We would not have been able to grow the food that we’re growing without Food Well Alliance’s contributions,” said Bobby. “We would not have been able to train the number of urban agriculturists and impact their lives without the number of donations provided.”
It’s no surprise that Bobby was selected a Top 10 Hero for 2022 CNN Heroes Award. He is excited about the possibilities that can come from this nomination and how it brings more awareness to the importance of community gardens and urban agriculture.
Plant A Row started in Anchorage, Alaska, when garden columnist Jeff Lowenfels asked readers to plant an extra row of vegetables to donate to the local soup kitchen. Gardeners took up the challenge, and garden-fresh vegetables piled into the kitchen.
Plant a Row was launched in metro Atlanta in 1997. In that first year, growers donated 600 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables. Last year, 105,888 pounds were donated by individual gardeners, community gardeners and orchard stewards to food pantries across metro Atlanta.
Would you like to donate produce to people in need? There are three steps to participating.
(1) Grow food! Whether you have a community garden plot, or just a few tomato plants, every pound helps.
(2) When your food is all grown up, take whatever you don’t need and donate it to one of these food pantries.
(3) Once you’ve dropped off your donation, record how much produce you donated here so we can keep track!
Other Options:
You may also call 211 to reach United Way, who can help you find a pantry nearby. Just be sure to ask whether they are accepting fresh produce.
Once you’ve made your donation, fill out our form below or email gardens@foodwellalliance.org so we can track your donations. Every pound counts!
