Upon entering the gardening classroom at Mohammed Schools of Atlanta (MSOA), Sister Terri Ali could be heard stating, “the revolution is in the soil,” as she spoke to her visitors. Ali, a self-proclaimed enthusiast of gardening, is the Farmer and Garden Teacher at MSOA. She is also the most recent in a long line of successors to take the helm of the school’s agricultural pursuits. 

Nestled in the heart of East Atlanta, MSOA students and their families are among many who grapple with challenges related to food insecurity, or having limited access to quality and healthy foods. Food deserts are a result of this issue, and are on the rise in Georgia due to a rapid increase in population. These deserts occur where healthy food is either inaccessible or too expensive for nearby residents.

 In 2019, census data provided by the USDA reported that persons located in the area in which MSOA is situated are deemed to have low-income and low-access to supermarkets within a half mile radius, both designations which can be considered barriers to healthy foods.

Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, reported that almost 1.2 million Georgians are facing hunger, including more than 335,000 under the age of 18. DeKalb County, where MSOA is located, accounts for nearly 27,000 of those youth.

As a result of gentrification, the demographic makeup in East Atlanta has changed over the years. What was once a predominantly lower income city marked with food marts, convenience stores, liquor stores and low income housing projects has since become inundated with wealthier residents able to afford newly constructed homes starting at $350,000 or more. With the influx of this new demographic, the needs of longtime residents can become neglected.

In DeKalb County, students have the ability to earn credits towards postsecondary and workforce education known as Career Technical & Agricultural Education (CTAE). In January, MSOA instituted a nutrition and culinary course for 9th grade students that enables them to work towards these credits upon graduation. A new kitchen installation is also underway with the hope of enhancing their experience. 

Firdous Community Garden was USDA certified in 2021 and initially certified naturally grown in 2022, the latter requiring inspections on an annual basis. In addition to the growing garden, the MSOA campus houses at least two orchards, two wind tunnels, a greenhouse and two bee hives. 

A little over 200 students attend MSOA with approximately 80 of those students eating lunch from the cafeteria. Since 2023, as a benefit of their farm-to-cafeteria initiative, students have been able to receive at least one serving of vegetables or fruit from the garden in each lunch tray.

However, all students can benefit from the garden even if they don’t eat the school’s lunch due to its on-site access. Previously, volunteers and community members also planted fruit trees on the school’s soccer field for students to eat at will.

“They eat all the strawberries up,” says Ali. “I don’t say a word, because that’s who it’s for…That is the premium concept of a garden in a school. It is food on demand.” 

Every week students are afforded the opportunity to take home food from the garden to share with their families. Once a month, fresh produce is provided to the school’s affiliated religious institution, Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam. During a break between classes, Gissentanner picked, washed and prepared two different varieties of lettuce and bunches of kale for delivery to the families who depend on the free produce for healthier diets. 

CULTIVATING COMMUNITY

Integral to the success of a school garden is ensuring that someone is there to lead the project. Ali, retired, was a former lead consultant at a well-known nonprofit. She had the time to invest in such an endeavor and knew how to write grants to support the school’s efforts, so she became the designated anchor.

Ali has secured grants over the years that have played a pivotal role in the garden’s growth. Although the students take care of the garden and community members volunteer regularly, the grant funds created a revenue stream for skilled workers to assist with the more laborious aspects of the land.

Over the years, the garden has become a community space for the children and the adults. Gissentanner, who started appearing in the garden in 2018, explained that during the pandemic when students gathered online for classes, they also needed a way to continue to connect with one another, not only for social reasons but to combat the lasting effects confinement could have on one’s mental health. 

The garden served as an outdoor space where mothers routinely congregated to share updates in their lives while keeping a protective eye on their children. The garden also allowed the children to come together in an environment that was freeing and safe.

In addition, these meetups furthered the maintenance of the garden during the pandemic while also providing nutritious food for the community in a time when a healthier lifestyle was encouraged due to the threat of the spread of Coronavirus. 

For others who don’t have children that attend the school, the garden serves as a sanctuary where they can feel connected to the community, including members of local nonprofits such as Sisters United in Human Service and Muslimahs Endure who volunteer on a regular basis. This is also true for parents of previous graduates, as in the case of Celinda Hicks who has been volunteering since 2017.

GROWING PAINS

Although Firdous Garden has been a success in many ways, it does not come without its challenges.

Ali mentioned that the garden is not currently included in the schools’ overall annual budget, which in many ways can hinder further progress without strategic planning to obtain sufficient resources, such as a foreman, teachers, and at least one dedicated grant writer.

Anyone leading such an initiative must be prepared to take on multiple roles until the garden is fully established. 

Funding remains a barrier to actualizing the full potential of the garden. For example, the broader Atlanta Masjid community and that of neighboring residents are not benefitting as much as they could because the focus has been on ensuring the children remain the priority.

MSOA has a unique program that equips students with the knowledge and hands-on experience that sustains their farm-to-cafeteria model. However, teachers are far too engrossed with ensuring academic excellence to write a detailed syllabus, and without a person designated to design the curriculum that has evolved over time, it becomes institutional knowledge that can become diluted or lost.    

Ali is acutely aware of the limitations that many academic institutions may face in their attempts to sustain school gardens, which is why she maintains a list that identifies specific ways to overcome these challenges. Here are a few points she feels are crucial, including: