Agriculture and farming are the cornerstone of rural life across Georgia. Now, Eugene Cooke is working to bring this practice to the city of Atlanta by helping residents plant fruit and vegetable gardens in their own communities. Eugene’s program, called Grow Where You Are, is a full-service agricultural business that helps design and implement organic farming practices and urban gardening throughout the region. Since 2012, the program has built a robust three-acre farm-to-market site that has served as a research, teaching, and training facility dedicated to increasing ecological sustainability and food justice. Eugene’s partner, JoVanna Johnson-Cooke, is heavily involved with the program and also runs her own initiative, MaituFoods, which delivers vegan meals to schools while highlighting the benefits of healthy nutrition through a vegan diet.

Eugene and JoVanna were recently featured in Atlanta Magazine. You can learn more about their work with urban farming practices by reading the article, or visiting the Grow Where You Are or MaituFoods websites.

Eugene Cooke is a member of the 2017 cohort of the Culture of Health Leaders program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Check back soon to learn more about Eugene’s work!