The Faces And Future Of Community Gardening In Athens, Georgia
The Effect of Locally Grown Food
By Grady Capstone
Grady News Source
January 7, 2021
Excerpt:
Abbie Dillon, a fourth-year horticulture student and Office of Sustainability Urban Agriculture intern, maintains the Green Roof Garden atop the University of Georgia’s Geography-Geology building. The garden is a 3,000 square foot green space that grows about 200 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables every season. The majority of food feeds food-insecure people in Athens through organizations like Campus Kitchen.
The Green Roof Garden isn’t open to the public, but it represents a community approach to growing fresh food.
Dillon frequently works with small volunteer groups to promote sustainable agriculture and educate the community about the benefits of local food. Through guide-led tours and volunteer opportunities, Dillon strives to show how easy it is to grow one’s own food and explains that every citizen should be more in touch with where their food comes from.
“When you just buy food from a fast-food restaurant or even the grocery store, you just don’t really think about where it’s coming from and how much goes into making food,” she said.
