Community gardens run by passionate gardeners across metro Atlanta are contributing thousands of pounds of fresh produce per year to food pantries, soup kitchens, and free food stands. Whether the land lends a few acres or a handful of plots, an abundance of fruits and vegetables is being donated to neighbors in need.
Sandy Springs and Dunwoody
Atlanta Community Food Bank founder Bill Bolling spoke to a crowd of about 200 members of Temple Emanu-El, a Jewish synagogue in Sandy Springs, in 2004. Bolling’s talk sparked the creation of a community garden that, 21 years later, donates between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds of food per year to the Community Assistance Center (CAC) about two miles from the synagogue. It doesn’t get more local than that.
First, a piece of land was cleared that was formerly used as Temple Emanu-El overflow parking. Volunteers took it from there: they put up a fence, built raised beds, installed an irrigation system, and started operating Garden Isaiah.
“Temple Emanu-El decided that we would be part of the solution,” said volunteer Robert Wittenstein, only the fourth person to run the garden.
Between six and 10 volunteers meet on Sundays to weed, plant, or harvest. Within a day, the produce is delivered to CAC. When he spoke to Rough Draft, Wittenstein had just dropped off 40 heads of lettuce “as good or better quality than one could find in the grocery store.” Detailed records are kept to track the amount and type of produce being delivered.
Children from Temple Emanu-El’s religious school visit to hear about who the garden serves and why. The kids help with watering, weeding, and whatever else needs to be done that day, Wittenstein said. The message he wants to convey: Sandy Springs and Dunwoody are considered to be affluent communities, and yet there are thousands of people in the community who are food obscure.
Wittenstein also helped to start the Dunwoody Community Garden and Orchard at Brook Run which contributes to Malachai’s Storehouse, the food pantry at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Dunwoody. The two garden communities are very close, sharing seeds and visiting each other’s gardens. Dunwoody Community Garden starts plants from seed in the greenhouse during the winter so they can be planted at Garden Isaiah in the spring.
What’s new this year at Garden Isaiah in Sandy Springs? Sweet potatoes are off the list. Wittenstein said the vegetables are labor-intensive to cure and store after they’ve been harvested. Historically, Garden Isaiah has grown bell peppers and jalapenos. This year, CAC has asked for hot peppers to serve to the pantry’s large Hispanic population.
With nearly 40 years under its belt, CAC distributed 1.1 million pounds of food in 2025 to approximately 4,200 families between its two Sandy Springs food pantries. To ensure the dignity and respect of CAC’s clients, both food pantries are set up like a grocery store so clients can choose what they like to eat.
“Last year, the visits to those two food pantries was up 18%, which tells you that the need is not going away. If anything, it continues to increase,” CAC CEO Francis Horton said, adding that CAC uses 28 congregational partners to provide food.
CAC is supported by local funding, not federal dollars, with the majority of support coming from individuals in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.
“We’re not affected by cutbacks in Washington, or even at the state level. So we’re blessed in that we continue to provide services to our clients in spite of what is happening around us,” Horton said.
CAC has seen an increased number of visits from who Horton describes as “middle income earners.” As prices in the grocery store rise and wages stay the same, folks are finding themselves “one crisis away from eviction proceedings.”
“It’s important for us to understand the needs are not only among those folks we characterize as low income, but are creeping up that scale to include more and more people,” Horton said.
Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain Community Garden has contributed more than 1,700 pounds of produce to Stone Mountain Ecumenical Cooperative food pantry since 2011. The space includes a pollinator garden, herb garden, children’s garden, 54 garden beds, bee hives, compost systems, and dedicated space for donations to the food pantry.
Although the choices at food pantries have improved from overly salty, overly sugary, and mass produced products, there’s nothing like freshly picked fruits and vegetables from Columbus Brown’s garden.
As a master gardener and the co-site leader of Stone Mountain Community Garden, Brown said being a person of faith leads him to help people experiencing food insecurity.
“We like to walk the walk,” Brown said.
Brown said the plots have just finished harvesting late winter kale, collards, mustard greens, and turnips. They’re getting started with spring and summer produce like white potatoes, peas, climbing beans, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and zucchini.
There’s no magic to getting rid of bugs in the garden, by the way. Brown said he and other volunteers on “bug patrol” go around knocking beetles off of leaves and into a glass cup of soapy water. Volunteers spend about 2,000 hours per year maintaining the garden.
“It’s a diverse collection of folks at the garden. There are a number of partners who help like Food Well Alliance, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, local beekeepers, and the women’s club,” Brown said.
Just west of Main Street, Stone Mountain Community Garden is open to visitors. A demonstration area gives gardeners ideas about what to plant and why.
Tucker
NETWorks Cooperative Ministry has long been known for its food, housing, and utility assistance to neighbors in Northlake, Embry Hills, and Tucker. In late 2025, NETWorks launched Growings, an indoor hydroponic garden built by Neil Duggan, a member of Tucker First UMC.
Growings is a volunteer-operated garden inside a warehouse that produces more than 350 pounds of organic produce each month. By growing vegetables in nutrient-rich water instead of soil, the growing process is accelerated, consistent, and reliable.
“This method gives us ready access to high-quality, fresh produce with an extended shelf life, providing neighbors with the healthy items they want to put on their tables,” the website states.
NETWorks distributes more than 400,000 pounds of food annually.
NETWorks brings fresh food to the Tucker Farmers Market weekly from 4 to 7 p.m. at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. From January to March, Growings shared 452 pounds of fresh produce including lettuce, arugula, cucumbers, herbs and more.
Food Well Alliance
Food Well Alliance, a collaborative network of gardens, farms, and orchards, is keen on the idea that every little bit counts. Whether it’s acres of planned crops or a few extra tomatoes, all metro Atlanta growers can participate in feeding their neighbors.
“Donate to the closest food pantry or shelter or group home and learn about the people right in your own neighborhood that are struggling with paying bills. It can be pretty eye opening,” Fred Conrad, Food Well Alliance senior manager of Community Gardens and Orchards, said. “It hits you on a more emotional level.”
Donating fresh food is no simple feat. It’s a lot of work to grow and harvest, and it takes extra time to deliver it to a food pantry, Conrad said.
“The food can make it from the garden to the plate in a single day,” he said. “The Atlanta Community Food Bank has gotten incredibly good at moving fresh, perishable food, but community gardens are so absolutely fresh and high in nutritional value.”
Although suburban gardens can produce more food with more land, need is not restricted to location or age. “There are seniors and children who, when they run out of money, they cannot go out and get a job. They need help,” Conrad said. He added: “Atlanta is one of the most generous communities as far as people donating local, fresh food to organizations.”
To donate from your own garden, visit the Food Well Alliance website.
