“Sweet Auburn Curb Market Photos.” Yelp. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. <http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sweet-auburn-curb-market-atlanta?start=120>.
The Sweet Auburn Curb Market, located in Atlanta, Georgia, has been an important resource for the people of that community for decades. The market offers fresh, beautiful fruits and vegetables for reasonable prices. The market reminds us that even living in the city, it is important to take care of your body.
“Sweet Auburn Curb Market Photos.” Yelp. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. <http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sweet-auburn-curb-market-atlanta?start=120>.
The Sweet Auburn Market, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is a welcoming place in which people from all over the community and from all socioeconomic statuses can join together. All of the vendor’s items are inexpensive and are great quality. It is a perfect place to stop for a quick lunch, to satisfy your sweet tooth with a cookie, or to shop for groceries.
Bonner, Jeanne. “Sweet Auburn Curb Market viewed as business incubator”. Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved February 18, 2016. http://www.ajc.com/news/business/sweet-auburn-curb-market-viewed-as-business-incuba/nQnzB/.
This photo of Matt Hinton, owner of Bell Street Burritos, shows the success that may come from vendors that rent a stand at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market in Atlanta, Georgia. Matt is a part time teacher, and he was not able to make enough money to support his family, so he started his business in the market. He talks about how it is easier to rent a stall at the market because it would take much more money and preparation time to rent his own building. The market gives people like Matt a chance to start off with few resources and make something special.
The Edgewood Community Learning Garden (ECLG) is surrounded by a diverse group of homes. Driving towards the ECLG, and passing by the Edgewood neighborhoods, the background of the area can begin to be understood. Many of the houses are old, rotting, and some boarded up. However, nestled between these houses are homes that have been reconstructed to be made new and expensive. Gentrification has rocked the Edgewood scene to create an ever changing environment. Despite this transformation, the ECLG sits, surrounded by old houses, as a place of welcoming for all of the home owners in the neighborhoods— no matter their socioeconomic status. The beautiful entrance to the garden is never closed and has lovely hand painted signs on the inside and outside of the garden. The ECLG is always open to the public to watch the chickens and honey bees, to run around on the play set, or to gaze at the fresh vegetables and blooming flowers. During its six years of existence, every Tuesday, the garden invites all of the children around the area to visit the garden and to learn more about how fresh foods grow, where they come from, and why they are important (https://sites.gsu.edu/sberry11/2016/02/09/external-desctription-2/).
The ECLG also provides a place where all the members of the community can come together and meet with one another during the events, like the Fall Roots Festival. The greenery and colorful welcome sign make it a place of serenity and happiness. There are paths made from place to place within the garden as to encourage its visitors to walk around and enjoy all that it has to offer. A greenery full of flowers, lies at the front of the garden, allowing the honey bees to do their work. The apiary, or bee yard, is built inside of the chicken coup because the chickens eat the larva of the parasitic bugs that affect the bees. To the left of the entrance, well kept rectangles hold a diverse selection of fruits and vegetables (https://sites.gsu.edu/sberry11/2016/02/09/external-description-3/). Beyond that, is the play set where the children can release their energy instead of taking it out on the delicate plants.
It is evident that gentrification is occurring in the Edgewood neighborhoods. As I drove past the homes, a modern three story home sat next to a small one story home with the windows boarded up. Taking the place of an apartment complex, it is interesting that the garden was built here. During this garden’s six years of existence, it has witnessed the demolition and renovation of many homes, becoming too expensive for the poor to purchase.
Taken by me on February 4th
On their way home from school, these curious students stopped by to talk with me. I spoke to them about what they think about the garden, and they told me they liked to look at the chickens, and there was a band that came to play here. I later learned that what they were referring to the Fall Roots Festival last November where about 100 people joined in on this community unifying activity.
Taken by me on Feburary 4th
The vegetables grown in the ECLG are donated to food banks, and the children who help work in the garden can also sometimes bring food home with them. Upon speaking with the ECLG manager, Derek Pinson, I learned that they are planning to have a market stand set up so that the foods that are ripe enough to be eaten can be set on the stand for the surrounding community to take home with them.
Taken by me on February 4th and 9th
The ECLG offers a time where elementary and middle school students can learn about how to grow their own food. In an urban environment like Atlanta, these children may not have ever had the opportunity to be exposed to how fresh, healthy foods are grown. The Garden Hour gives children the chance to become educated and excited about vegetables!
Taken by me on February 9th
Upon my first visit to the Edgewood Community Learning Garden (ECLG), I was interested in the “fresh eggs” sign. The eggs are not sold but are given away to community members that want them. Families living in poverty around this area are given a fresh, free source of protein, and this makes a huge statement to what the ECLG stands for. On my second trip there I met with the ECLG manager, and I was allowed inside the coup to feed the chickens and to anylize the quality of the eggs.
Taken by me on Febuary 4th and 9th.
“Edgewood Community Learning Garden”. The Wylde Center. Clifton Farm. 2013. Web. 5 Feb. 2016. <http://wyldecenter.org/edgewood-community-learning-garden/>.
It is important that I have the direct information about the Edgewood Community Learning Garden (ECLG) for this paper. I have emailed the Garden Manager to get some answers to my questions that were not posted on this site. However, this article is helpful because I now know that it has a system setup for volunteers which gives me the impression that the ECLG is easily accessible to the entire community. Having the presence of the Garden accessible to children growing up in this urban environment is important so the children can see first hand how cool healthy foods can be. I would like to know if the food grown here is available for the children to eat, because so often, vegetables are expensive and in short supply in urban areas. The ECLG has the opportunity to educate children about healthy eating and how they can grow the food themselves. I hope to incorporate what the manager says into the paper to analyze how the garden has changed the community, who has access to it, and why it was built there.