Nov 12, 2021
Atlanta organic produce grower named ‘Changemaker’ by Triscuit
Triscuit, known for its woven wheat crackers, recently announced that Atlanta organic produce grower Jamila Norman of Patchwork City Farms and two others are the brand’s 2021 Changemakers as part of its Missing Ingredients Project.
The 1.5-acre Patchwork farm is southwest of downtown Atlanta. Once an affluent part of Atlanta, the Oakland City neighborhood is bounded by freeways.
A diverse farm, Patchwork grows a variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs, including baby greens, arugula, kale, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, eggplant, okra, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, heirloom tomatoes and strawberries.
Oakland City and Bush Mountain, communities within Southwest Atlanta, are considered official food deserts by the USDA, with limited access to healthy, affordable fresh produce. Triscuit said in a news release it’s excited to help support Jamila and her social enterprise organization Patchwork City Farms – an urban farm based in Southwest Atlanta – as she expands on her mission to transform the food deserts of Atlanta into food havens through cultivating health and wellness, providing a platform for food education, and offering access to fresh, organic produce. With the $50,000 grant, Jamila and her team will aim to expand her farm’s output by more than 30% and aim to increase access to fresh produce for local residents.
Launched in November 2020 with a $1 million commitment over three years, the brand’s purpose-driven effort aims to weave more nourishment into the world by helping to improve access to fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables in food deserts across America.
Norman, with James Kanoff and Aidan Reilly, Co-Founders of The Farmlink Project, each received a $50,000 grant to support their unique and innovative community-based programs that are having a meaningful impact on food insecurity in food deserts, according to a news release from Triscuit. The brand selects Changemakers based upon their passion for lessening food insecurity and developing inventive, impactful ways to improve food access in their own communities and the difference they are making to reduce the problem.
“This year, submissions for the Triscuit brand’s The Missing Ingredients Project illustrated true ingenuity, with changemakers addressing both the challenges families face in accessing affordable, fresh foods, as well as the difficulties organizations may face supplying fresh produce,” said Becky Duke, Associate Director at Triscuit’s parent company, Mondelēz Global LLC. “Choosing these organizations took serious consideration, and we are extremely humbled to support the innovative solutions brought forth by both Patchwork City Farms and The Farmlink Project. We look forward to helping to find and support solutions to improve food access in these communities.”
According to the USDA, approximately 19 million people – 6.2% of the United States population – live in food deserts. These are geographic areas, either urban or rural, where access to affordable, healthy food options, including fresh fruits and vegetables, is limited or non-existent. The pandemic only worsened the issue of food access across the US, and the Missing Ingredients Project by Triscuit is fuelling the innovative efforts of individuals across the US to support solutions and create change.