Harvest Common Urban Farming and Community Gardens Initiative

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Executive Summary

Harvest Common Urban Farming and Community Gardens Initiative is a nonprofit in Atlanta, Georgia that turns vacant lots and unused land into productive neighborhood gardens. We grow vegetables on 16 sites in four neighborhoods, give the produce away free every week and through a mobile produce share, employ young people in a paid Youth Garden Apprenticeship and teach neighbors to cook and preserve what we grow. We do not own land. Every site is run under a written agreement with the city, the county or a congregation.

In Vine City, English Avenue, Pittsburgh and Mechanicsville, many residents live a mile or more from a full-service grocery store, and many have no car. Corner stores stock mostly processed food. Vacant lots, meanwhile, collect trash and signal neglect. Young people in these neighborhoods have few connections to agriculture, environmental work or the growing local food economy.

With this grant we will open two new garden sites (16 in all) in Year 1, give fresh produce to at least 500 households each season and employ 24 young people ages 16 to 22 in two paid cohorts. Our goals are that at least 70% of participating households say they have more access to fresh vegetables, that at least 70% of apprentices who finish are working or in school 12 months later and that every site passes soil testing before we grow food on it. We do not promise any harvest size, since weather, volunteers and soil vary, and we do not claim that gardens replace a grocery store.

Our Year 1 budget: about $643,000, growing to about $778,000 by Year 5. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus. We have 8 paid staff in Year 1 and 10 by Year 5. City and county contracts, produce sales and gifts add support, so grants fall from about 79% of our income in Year 1 to about 61% in Year 5.

We are asking the Urban Agriculture Innovation Fund for $95,000 for one Community Garden Coordinator, garden infrastructure and soil remediation for two new sites and part of the apprentice wage budget. Contracts, other grants, sales and gifts cover the rest.

I am Darnell Okafor, the Executive Director, a lifelong Vine City resident, a certified master gardener and a community organizer with 11 years of experience. The numbers in this proposal are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end, not promises.

Company Description

Harvest Common Urban Farming and Community Gardens Initiative is a nonprofit organization in Georgia. We are a 501(c)(3) public charity, governed by a volunteer board of directors. We will provide our IRS determination letter, board list and most recent financial statements with this proposal.

Our mission. To grow food, skills and community by turning unused urban land into gardens that feed families, employ young people and give neighbors ownership of their food.

What we believe. Fresh food should not depend on which neighborhood a person lives in. Urban gardens are not a substitute for systemic change, but they are real, immediate and led by the people who live next to them. The land belongs to the community, and neighbors should decide what is grown and how it is shared.

How we started. Harvest Common began when neighbors in Vine City cleaned up a dumping lot and planted collards, tomatoes and sweet potatoes in raised beds they built themselves. Three more lots followed the next year. A board was formed, 501(c)(3) status was obtained and the first paid staff member was hired. We now operate 14 sites.

What we offer:
- Neighborhood gardens. Raised beds, in-ground rows, hoop houses and small orchards on city, county, congregation and nonprofit land, run by a Community Garden Coordinator and neighbor volunteers called site stewards.
- Free produce. Weekly distribution at each site and a mobile produce share that visits senior housing and clinics. There is no income test.
- Youth Garden Apprenticeship. A 16-week paid program for young people ages 16 to 22, who are our employees, working about 12 hours a week in the gardens and in classes on soil, composting, water, food safety and job skills.
- Nutrition education. Monthly cooking and food preservation workshops at each site, in English and Spanish.
- Stewardship. Weekend work days, school visits, congregation plots and a neighborhood compost program.
- Market sales. A small amount of surplus produce is sold at two neighborhood markets and to two restaurants, and the income supports operations.

Who we serve. Residents of four Atlanta neighborhoods: Vine City, English Avenue, Pittsburgh and Mechanicsville, with priority for households without a car or near a food store and for young people who are out of school or work. We do not charge for produce, workshops or the apprenticeship.

What we do not do. We do not own or buy land. We do not make loans. We do not give medical, legal or tax advice. We do not promise a job after the apprenticeship or any particular harvest.

How we are run. A nine-member volunteer board of directors oversees the organization and approves the budget each year. The board includes two residents, a soil scientist, an urban planner, a public health nurse, a community college workforce dean, a farmers market manager, an attorney and a certified public accountant. An outside accountant reviews our books every year.

Where things stand today. We have signed multi-year land use agreements for all 14 sites, produce sharing agreements with two clinics and a senior center and letters of support from four neighborhood associations, two schools and a regional food bank. Before we open a new site, we complete soil testing and get the landowner's written approval.

Problem & Opportunity

Many residents of our four neighborhoods live a mile or more from a full-service grocery store, and many have no car. Median household income is low, and a large share of residents rely on SNAP. Corner stores and gas stations carry mostly processed food, often at higher prices per calorie than suburban supermarkets. Public health researchers and city planners describe parts of the area as food deserts or food swamps, places where fresh food is hard to get and less healthy food is easy to get.

Vacant land compounds the problem. The city has thousands of vacant parcels, and our service area contains hundreds. Unmaintained lots collect trash, attract rodents and signal disinvestment. Neighbors avoid them, and children have little safe outdoor space.

Young people in these neighborhoods have few clear paths into agriculture, landscaping, environmental science or food entrepreneurship. The regional food economy is growing, with more farmers markets, urban farms and food businesses, and entry-level workers with hands-on growing experience are hard to find.

Existing resources are stretched. The regional food bank distributes mostly shelf-stable food. Other community gardens serve other neighborhoods. City parks have little capital to turn vacant lots into gardens. Extension serves farmers and has limited urban programming.

Urban gardens also have real limits. Soil in old lots may contain lead and other contaminants, and food should not be grown in it without testing and, where needed, raised beds with clean fill. A garden can only grow as much as its land, labor and weather allow.

We want to be clear about what we know and do not know. We know that gardens can supply fresh produce, create safer public space and offer young people work. We do not know how much food any one site will grow in a given year, and we do not claim to solve food insecurity. We will use the most recent numbers from the census, the city and the health department in our final application and will not overstate them.

Products & Services

Harvest Common will operate 16 garden sites in Year 1 and 18 by Year 2, give the produce away free, employ young people in a paid apprenticeship and teach cooking and food skills, at no cost to residents.

How it works, step by step:
1. Finding sites. We work with the city, the county, congregations and nonprofits to find lots of at least 5,000 square feet with road access, near homes and with water. We open a site only with a written agreement of at least three years.
2. Soil testing. Before any food is grown, we test soil through the state extension laboratory for lead, arsenic and cadmium. If the results are above screening levels, we use raised beds with a geotextile barrier and certified clean fill. We do not distribute food from a site that has not passed.
3. Preparation. We install raised beds or a hoop house, water access, a compost station and fencing the landowner requires, and recruit a neighbor as site steward.
4. Growing. The Farm Network Director and each coordinator plan crops with neighbors, favoring culturally familiar, nutritious crops such as collards, kale, sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, okra and herbs.
5. Free produce. Every Friday at each site and twice a week through the mobile produce share, residents take what they need. We track households and ask a short survey at the end of each season.
6. Youth Garden Apprenticeship. Each 16-week cohort of 12 young people ages 16 to 22 are our employees, paid hourly through payroll, working about 12 hours a week in the gardens and in classes on soil science, composting, water, food safety and job readiness. The coordinator follows graduates for 12 months.
7. Nutrition education. Monthly workshops on cooking seasonal produce, preserving food, stretching a food budget and reading labels.
8. Stewardship and compost. Weekend work days, school visits, congregation plots and a compost program for households near each site.
9. Market sales. Surplus is sold at two markets and to two restaurants under simple written agreements.

What this grant will pay for. One Community Garden Coordinator, infrastructure and soil remediation for two new sites and part of the apprentice wage budget. The rest of the budget comes from city and county contracts, produce sales, other grants and gifts.

Market Analysis

Who benefits: residents of four Atlanta neighborhoods with limited access to fresh produce, young people ages 16 to 22 who need paid first jobs and the neighborhoods that gain safer, more productive land.

Our primary group is households in Vine City, English Avenue, Pittsburgh and Mechanicsville. We will use the most recent census, city and health department numbers in our final application. Our secondary group is young people ages 16 to 22, recruited through nearby high schools, workforce agencies and neighborhood groups.

How we sized our plan. In Year 1 we plan 16 sites (14 existing and 2 new) and at least 500 households served each season, plus the mobile share. We plan 18 sites by Year 2. The two new sites cost about $24,000 each for raised beds, a hoop house, fencing, water systems and clean fill ($48,000). We plan 24 apprentices in Year 1 in two cohorts of 12, growing to about 32 by Year 5.

Demand data. In our last two seasons our sites served an average of about 410 unique households each per season, and our mobile share reached about 90 more households a week. Our last apprenticeship cycle had 61 applicants for 16 places.

We do not plan to serve every vacant lot in the city. We plan to do the work well where we have trust and agreements.

Competitive Landscape

Other resources, and how we relate to them.

- The regional food bank. It distributes shelf-stable food at scale. It refers people to us for fresh produce, and we refer people with food emergencies to it. We do not distribute shelf-stable food.
- Other urban farms and community gardens. Several operate in the city, mostly in other neighborhoods. We refer youth who want advanced training to them and recruit their graduates as site stewards.
- School garden programs. They serve students during the school day. We serve residents year-round and work on land outside school grounds, and we train teachers in our methods.
- State extension. It provides soil testing, education and nutrient advice. We use its laboratory and refer participants to it.
- Commercial urban farms. They focus on restaurant and market sales. Our purpose is neighborhood distribution, with a small amount of sales.
- Farmers markets and mobile markets. They bring produce for sale. We give produce away and teach skills.

What makes us different.
- Gardens placed in the neighborhoods with the least access, run with neighbors.
- Free produce with no income test.
- A paid apprenticeship in which young people are employees.
- Multi-year land use agreements and a soil testing rule before any food is grown.
- Honest published results, including when we fall short.
- We do not own land, which keeps the model easy to copy.

What we do not claim. We are a small organization. Gardens cannot replace a grocery store. We plan to earn trust one garden at a time.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How we will reach residents, young people and partners.

Residents. We meet people where they are: neighborhood association meetings, congregations, barber shops, laundromats, clinics, senior centers and the gardens themselves. Every site has a hand-painted sign in English and Spanish with the distribution schedule and a phone number. We post in neighborhood online groups. Apprenticeship graduates, with their permission, are our best recruiters.

Young people. We recruit through four public high schools, alternative schools, workforce agencies and open garden days. We follow state rules for workers under 18, including work permits and hour limits.

Landowners and city partners. We keep relationships with the city's sustainability and parks offices, the county land bank and congregations, and show each landowner our site data every year.

Health partners. Clinics, the county health department and WIC offices refer clients to us and partner on workshops. We share aggregate, de-identified numbers with their consent.

Funders. We will report results as totals twice a year and in an annual report and invite funders to site visits and graduations. We will not use photographs or stories of residents or apprentices without clear, written permission.

Sponsors. We invite businesses, congregations and individuals to sponsor a garden bed, an apprentice's wages or a mobile share route.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 to 2: Attorney review of new land use agreements and youth worker policies, soil testing on two new sites, order infrastructure from vendors, recruit the first apprentice cohort.
- Month 3: Prepare and open the two new sites to volunteers, begin the first cohort of 12 apprentices.
- Months 4 to 8: Full growing season across 16 sites, weekly distribution, monthly workshops and the second apprentice cohort.
- Months 9 to 12: Harvest and fall plantings, graduations, soil amendment and winterizing, year-end data and report to funders.

Sites. Sites range from about 5,000 to 22,000 square feet. Each has a written agreement of at least three years that sets our care duties, the owner's right of inspection, insurance and 90 days notice if the owner needs the land back. We carry $2 million in general liability insurance.

New site infrastructure. The two new sites cost about $24,000 each for raised beds, a hoop house, fencing, water systems, clean fill and delivery, or $48,000 in Year 1. Everything is bought from vendors. After Year 1, new-site spending falls as we add fewer sites.

Apprentice wages and controls. Apprentices are employees. Each works about 12 hours a week for 16 weeks at $15.00 an hour, about $2,880 in wages plus about 12% for payroll taxes and workers' compensation, or about $3,200. Two cohorts of 12 cost about $76,800 in Year 1. Hours are approved weekly by the Apprenticeship Coordinator and reviewed by the Executive Director. Apprentices under 18 have work permits and hours that follow state rules, and work in groups under a trained adult.

Staffing. In Year 1: an Executive Director, a Farm Network Director, three Community Garden Coordinators, a Nutrition Educator, a Youth Garden Apprenticeship Coordinator and a part-time Program Coordinator and Data Specialist. We add a fourth coordinator in Year 2 and a Community Compost and Outreach Manager in Year 5.

Food safety. Produce is harvested with clean tools and containers, washed where needed and shared the same day or kept cool. The Nutrition Educator holds food handler and ServSafe certifications, and we follow health department rules for any food prepared at workshops.

Volunteers. Volunteers are screened by the site's coordinator. Anyone who works with young people passes a background check. We carry volunteer accident insurance.

Privacy. Household participation is recorded as counts, with no names at the point of service. Apprentice records are kept securely and reported to funders only as totals.

Insurance. We carry general liability, commercial auto, property, professional, directors and officers and workers' compensation insurance. Insurance is about $14,000 a year in Year 1.

Management & Organization

The people who will carry out the program.

Darnell Okafor, Executive Director. A lifelong Vine City resident, certified master gardener and community organizer with 11 years of experience in neighborhood improvement. He leads fundraising, partnerships, finance and hiring, reports to the board and is the main contact for funders and the city. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Farm Network Director. Oversees all garden sites, plans crops, manages soil health and compost and supervises the coordinators.

Community Garden Coordinators. Each manages four to five sites, schedules volunteers, trains site stewards and keeps records.

Nutrition Educator. Runs monthly workshops and works with clinic partners. Holds food handler and ServSafe certifications.

Youth Garden Apprenticeship Coordinator. Recruits and supervises apprentices, runs the curriculum, approves hours and tracks outcomes for 12 months.

Program Coordinator and Data Specialist (part-time). Keeps records and prepares reports.

Board of directors. Nine volunteers who meet quarterly. The board approves the budget and policies, reviews outcomes each quarter and does not receive pay.

Community advisory group. Site stewards, graduates and residents meet twice a year and tell us what to grow and how to share it.

Staff pay in this plan includes payroll taxes and workers' compensation. Salaries are Executive Director $64,000, Farm Network Director $56,000, Community Garden Coordinator $46,000 each, Nutrition Educator $44,000, Youth Garden Apprenticeship Coordinator $48,000, part-time Program Coordinator $24,000 and Community Compost and Outreach Manager $46,000. Replace them with the pay you can offer where you live.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals for each year and how we will measure them.

- Before opening new sites: sign land use agreements, complete soil testing, review youth worker rules with an attorney, get insurance quotes and recruit the first apprentice cohort. Do not grow food on a site before it passes soil testing.
- Year 1: Open two new sites (16 in all), serve at least 500 households each season and employ 24 apprentices. A balanced budget of about $643,000, with a small surplus of about $16,380. 8 paid staff.
- Year 2: Open two more sites (18 in all), add a fourth coordinator and serve at least 600 households each season. A balanced budget of about $694,000, with a small surplus of about $16,652. 9 paid staff.
- Year 3: Serve at least 700 households each season, with the compost program active at every site and 30 apprentices. A balanced budget of about $703,000, with a small surplus of about $16,503. 9 paid staff.
- Year 4: Serve at least 700 households each season and employ about 32 apprentices. A balanced budget of about $715,000, with a small surplus of about $15,547. 9 paid staff.
- Year 5: Add a Community Compost and Outreach Manager, with produce sales covering about 10% of the budget. A balanced budget of about $778,000, with a small surplus of about $16,197. 10 paid staff.

What we measure:
- Unique households receiving produce each season, by site and by mobile share route.
- Pounds distributed and sold, by site (recorded, not promised).
- Apprentices enrolled and completed, and working or in school at 6 and 12 months.
- Household-reported access to fresh vegetables, from an anonymous end-of-season survey.
- Soil test results for every site before each season.
- Cost per household served and cost per apprentice.

How we review results. The Farm Network Director and coordinators review site data every week, and the full team reviews outcomes monthly. Each season, staff, the community advisory group and our health partners review results together and we change what is not working. Twice a year the board reviews results and we share them with funders as totals. Every number in this plan is a goal, and we will report what really happens, including when we fall short.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $95,000 from the Urban Agriculture Innovation Fund for one Community Garden Coordinator, infrastructure and soil remediation for two new sites and part of the apprentice wage budget, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Community Garden Coordinator salary (one of three coordinators), $46,000 (other funds add $92,000).
- Equipment: Garden infrastructure and soil remediation for two new sites, purchased from vendors: raised beds, a hoop house, fencing, water systems and certified clean fill, $30,000 (other funds add $18,000).
- Other: Youth garden apprentice wages for two cohorts of 12, paid through payroll to apprentices as employees (part of the apprentice wage budget), $19,000 (other funds add $57,800).

Other money in the program. Other grants, contracts, earned income and gifts pay the other $534,820 of Year 1 costs, including the matching amounts above. All Year 1 costs are listed below.

Year 1 budget: about $643,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $16,380 after spreading startup and equipment costs over five years). Year 1 money coming in: grants $509,000 (this request plus other grants we are applying for), city and County Urban Agriculture Contracts $90,000, produce Sales $24,000, community Donations and Sponsorships $20,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $64,000; farm Network Director $56,000; community Garden Coordinator (3 positions) $138,000; nutrition Educator $44,000; youth Garden Apprenticeship Coordinator $48,000; program Coordinator and Data Specialist (part-time) $24,000; new Site Infrastructure and Soil Remediation (Purchased from Vendors) $48,000; youth Garden Apprentice Wages and Payroll Costs (Paid Through Payroll) $76,800; compost, Soil and Seed Materials $18,000; nutrition Workshop Supplies and Guest Instructors $10,000; office, Storage and Meeting Space Rent and Utilities $24,000; vehicle Operations and Maintenance $12,000; technology and Data System $8,000; insurance $14,000; outreach and Community Events $10,000; staff Training and Certifications $6,000; evaluation and Reporting $6,000; administration and Accounting $12,000; and about $11,020 a year for spreading startup and equipment costs over five years. These add up to $629,820.

How we planned costs. New site work is about $24,000 per site for two sites ($48,000). Apprentice wages are about $3,200 each including payroll costs, or $76,800 for 24. Compost, soil and seed materials are $18,000 and nutrition workshop supplies $10,000. Produce sales are budgeted at $24,000 and vary with yield.

About city and county funding. The city and county fund urban agriculture as part of food access and climate resilience, and state and federal programs fund youth employment and local food. These funds are competitive, awarded for set periods and subject to budgets. The amounts in this plan are our planning estimates, not promises, and agencies can change their budgets, rules and awards.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $39,100 are paid once from startup money and are listed item by item in the Startup Costs section.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($39,100), the cash the budget uses before it levels out (about $20,810) and a cash cushion of about $154,700, which is three months of Year 1 operating costs. That comes to about $214,610, rounded up to the nearest $500: $215,000. We start with $20,000 of our own savings and $195,000 in startup support from a regional food systems foundation, our board's annual campaign and our own savings, $215,000 in all, which covers that amount.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $643,000 in Year 1 to about $778,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $509,000, $513,000, $482,000, $454,000, $476,000 in Years 1 to 5, and city and County Urban Agriculture Contracts grow from $90,000 to $175,000; produce Sales grow from $24,000 to $80,000; community Donations and Sponsorships grow from $20,000 to $47,000. Grants fall from about 79% of our income in Year 1 to about 61% in Year 5.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $155,100, at the end of Year 1. City and county payments often arrive after we bill or after we submit reports. We plan for about $45,010 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

After the grant. Our plan is to grow city and county contracts as our data accumulates, to expand produce sales as sites mature and to invite businesses and congregations to sponsor gardens and apprentices. Documented food access and youth employment strengthens our case for public funding.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- Weather or drought reduces yields. We keep crop diversity across sites and make no production promises to partners.
- A landowner reclaims a site. Agreements require 90 days notice, and we keep a waiting list of tested sites.
- Soil testing finds contamination. We use raised beds with clean fill or do not open the site, and we keep contingency funds for testing and fill.
- A young worker is hurt. We train apprentices in tool safety, keep groups supervised and carry workers' compensation.
- City or county contracts are reduced. We keep a cash cushion, stage hiring so costs follow funding and apply to other funders.
- A grant ends. We keep savings, grow produce sales and sponsors and keep our cost per household low.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start with one site on a city-owned lot under a temporary agreement, record every pound and every household and use that record to make the case for a second site. Strong data from a small, well-run garden is the best foundation for a larger grant.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and Farm Network Director, and job descriptions for coordinators and the Apprenticeship Coordinator.
- Land use agreements for each site, or a table with landowner, address, size and term.
- Soil test results for all active sites and your plan for any new site.
- Letters of support from the city, health partners and neighborhood associations.
- Your apprenticeship curriculum, wage policy and youth worker procedures.
- Outcome data from past apprentices and household participation data, shown as totals.
- Proof of general liability, commercial auto, volunteer accident and workers' compensation insurance.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Income: Grant Revenue: $509,000 in Year 1, growing to $476,000 by Year 5; City and County Urban Agriculture Contracts: $90,000 in Year 1, growing to $175,000 by Year 5; Produce Sales: $24,000 in Year 1, growing to $80,000 by Year 5; Community Donations and Sponsorships: $20,000 in Year 1, growing to $47,000 by Year 5.
- Sites: 16 in Year 1 (14 existing and 2 new), 18 from Year 2; new site infrastructure about $24,000 per site.
- Apprentices: 24 in Year 1 (two cohorts of 12), growing to about 32 by Year 5, at about $3,200 each (16 weeks at 12 hours a week at $15.00, plus about 12% for payroll costs).
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive director $64,000; farm network director $56,000; community garden coordinator $46,000; nutrition educator $44,000; youth garden apprenticeship coordinator $48,000; program coordinator and data specialist (part-time) $24,000; community compost and outreach manager $46,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: new Site Infrastructure and Soil Remediation (Purchased from Vendors) $48,000, youth Garden Apprentice Wages and Payroll Costs (Paid Through Payroll) $76,800, compost, Soil and Seed Materials $18,000, nutrition Workshop Supplies and Guest Instructors $10,000, office, Storage and Meeting Space Rent and Utilities $24,000, vehicle Operations and Maintenance $12,000, technology and Data System $8,000, insurance $14,000, outreach and Community Events $10,000, staff Training and Certifications $6,000, evaluation and Reporting $6,000, administration and Accounting $12,000. These grow between -25% and 11% a year, and negative growth means a cost that is highest in Year 1.
- Startup costs ($39,100) and later equipment are spread evenly over five years in the plan's books, about $11,020 a year.
- About 7% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs