Two Gwinnett County organizations will be among six in Georgia to share funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Georgia (UGA).
The USDA and UGA's Archway Partnership have engaged with hundreds of community members at listening sessions across the state to determine how funding from a $1.5 million USDA grant can be used to advance agricultural initiatives and support community garden production in Georgia.
A release from the USDA says UGA Archway Partnership was able to take its time-tested and nationally awarded model of building community engagement to conduct needs assessments of agriculture and community gardens across the state. Archway and other UGA faculty, alongside personnel from the USDA, met with farmers and agricultural producers to understand their underlying needs and determined that they would select six entities in Georgia to receive sub-award funding to create, expand, or enhance large-scale gardens and agricultural opportunities.
In mid-May, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Columbus, Georgia and recognized the group's collaborated efforts to celebrate innovative work across the state. There they announced that six entities will each receive $145,000 in funding as part of the partnership between the USDA and UGA Archway Partnership. This funding comes as part of the USDA FSA’s investment of $43.1 million through the American Rescue Plan Act for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
Among those awarded with the grant divisions included Change Church, which has a new facility targeted for a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, July 17 in Duluth, and Peachtree Farm, based in Peachtree Corners. Other statewide groups to receive funding include Lowndes Associated Ministries to People Incorporated, Rockdale County Administration, Southern Sky Center for Diverse Arts and Culture Incorporated, and Turn Around Columbus.
Change Church's groundbreaking ceremony on July 17 begins at 9;00 a.m. at their 3080 Premier Parkway location in Duluth.
To learn more, you can visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture's website at https://www.usda.gov/
