{"241051":{"#nid":"241051","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Strengthening Atlanta\u0027s Food System","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta has made great strides towards establishing a grassroots, local food systems over the past five years. Barriers to growing and selling food are being removed, public safety regulations are being implemented, and a vibrant advocacy culture continues to educate the city\u0027s residents on the importance of locally and regionally produced food. In \u0022\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/smartech.gatech.edu\/bitstream\/handle\/1853\/48770\/SeannaBerry_A%20Food%20System%20Analysis%20of%20the%20City%20of%20Atlanta.pdf?sequence=1\u0022\u003EA Food System Analysis of the City of Atlanta\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0022 Seanna Berry (MCRP \u002713) analyzes the positive growth of Atlanta\u0027s current food system, investigates best practices in the United States, and maps the collaborative process necessary for Atlanta to achieve its food access goals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBerry\u0027s analysis of Atlanta\u0027s food production, processing, distribution, access, and resource recovery acknowledges recent institutional progress and identifies several gaps and barriers that still exist in city-wide policy and knowledge. While Atlanta is home to over 165 community gardens and numerous urban farming enterprises, many farmers are hamstrung by laws that limit the selling of food on-site in residential areas. Additionally, writes Berry, \u0022Personal gardens are neither expressly permitted or prohibited.\u0022 Ambiguity in the law, restrictions on composting, and a gap in knowledge about the amount and location of publically owned, vacant land in Atlanta suitable for farming, constrains what appears to be an incipient, large-scale movement.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo address these issues, Berry outlines seven priorities to advance a robust and healthy food system. While the majority of the priorities revolve around land use analysis and the mapping of the current food system (food asset mapping, cost of community services study, land inventory, development of an urban agricultural incubator site, and food asset and access mapping), specific policy recommendations and educational components anchor the list. Berry lays the ground work for many of her recommendations through preliminary mapping and goes on to identify funding sources and organizations that are positioned to advocate for long-term change. As Atlanta\u2019s local foods movement steps away from the moniker of \u201cemerging\u201d and seeks to gain mainstream traction, Berry writes that now is the time for the local and state governments to join in creating an integrated and healthy food system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESeanna Berry is a 2013 graduate of Georgia Tech\u0027s School of City and Regional Planning, and advising for her applied research paper was conducted by Professor Michael Elliott.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile the City of Atlanta has adopted transportation, land use, and economic development strategies as part of a long-term plan, food systems planning remains less formalized. Recent graduate Seanna Berry (MCRP \u002713) calls for an overarching food systems action plan to guide Atlanta\u0027s local food market.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27714","created_gmt":"2013-09-29 18:02:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:00","author":"Kyle James","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"241041":{"id":"241041","type":"image","title":"Farmer\u0027s Market","body":null,"created":"1449243688","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:41:28","changed":"1475894916","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:36","alt":"Farmer\u0027s Market","file":{"fid":"197778","name":"food.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/food_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/food_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":66681,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/food_0.jpg?itok=gh74bKij"}}},"media_ids":["241041"],"groups":[{"id":"1224","name":"School of City \u0026 Regional Planning"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"3929","name":"analysis"},{"id":"45481","name":"applied research paper"},{"id":"116","name":"food"},{"id":"75121","name":"food system"},{"id":"38771","name":"Healthy Cities"},{"id":"755","name":"public health"},{"id":"169597","name":"seanna berry"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"},{"id":"167052","name":"sustainable"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}