Alpharetta staff and volunteers report farm, school garden growth; propose community composting pilots

Amanda, a staff member in community agricultural and sustainability services, told the Recreation Board the city farm hosted regional visitors and that the program sequestered the equivalent of 16 acres of forest.

Amanda reported the program supports about 800 family apartments through outreach and said eight schools have signed up for a school-garden support program that provides seeds and seedlings. She said the farm has already donated more than 1,500 pounds of fresh food to North Fulton Community Charities so far this year, a 100% increase over the same time last year. Amanda also reported two student participants each received $1,249 toward college; one planned to attend Kennesaw and the other Georgia Tech.

In public comment, Vijay Desai, a member of the Natural Resources Commission and board member of the nonprofit Green Veil, proposed a volunteer-built, low-cost composter design and urged the city to help promote managed neighborhood or farm drop-off sites. Desai said the units are roughly 4 by 4 by 4 feet, fully enclosed and aerated, and that volunteer groups would build them at cost. He told the board, "We build that at our cost, so this will not have any cost to the city." Desai emphasized that any community drop-off would need supervised intake to keep unacceptable materials out of the composter.

Staff and board members said they would follow up with Parks and Recreation leadership to discuss logistics. Director Morgan Rogers was identified in the meeting packet as the point of contact for capital projects; board members requested staff bring Desai's proposal to department leadership for feedback.

These items were presented as informational reports and public comment; no formal program approval or city-funded pilot was authorized at the meeting.