ATLANTA – State Representative Kim Schofield (D-Atlanta) recently presented House Resolution 880, legislation that would encourage local governments to combat food deserts through urban farming, during a House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 8.
“Urban farming paves the way to a healthy Georgia and provides an economic boost to local farming and workforce development,” said Rep. Schofield. “Across the 159 counties in Georgia, communities and families are facing food insecurity and food deserts. No one should go to bed hungry or lack access to healthy food. There is a direct correlation between food deserts and high rates of obesity, heart disease, strokes and chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer. Limited access to supermarkets, grocery stores and others sources of healthy and affordable food makes it harder for some Georgians to eat a healthy diet.”
House Resolution 880 would encourage local governments to adopt policies to expand the support for land conservation, small farming and urban farming. HR 880 would also urge local governments to study their land use and permitting processes to determine how to remove barriers that seek to discourage or prevent the success of this industry.
Through this resolution, Rep. Schofield seeks to integrate agriculture into the urban economic and ecological system, which may include backyard, rooftop and balcony gardening, small farms, community gardening and roadside urban fringe agriculture.
The Georgia Urban Agriculture Council has expressed its support for this resolution.
For more information on HR 880, please click here.
Representative Kim Schofield represents the citizens of District 60, which includes portions of Clayton and Fulton counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2017 and currently serves on the Health & Human Services, Interstate Cooperation, Information and Audits and Small Business Development committees.
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