City of Mobile Unveils Africatown Garden Irrigation System

Aug 16th, 2017

Mobile, Ala. -- The City of Mobile unveiled the new irrigation system for the Africatown Community Garden on Wednesday. Utilizing Community Development Block Grant funding, the City provided $15,500 for the purchase, installation and project management for the garden's latest development.

"Our hope is that this new irrigation system will help provide more healthy options for Africatown and its citizens," said Mayor Stimpson. "This garden not only produces fruits and vegetables. It produces opportunities for Africatown to come together as a community."

The garden was first established in 2014 through a USDA grant to bridge the gap the Africatown community experiences to obtaining healthy foods. For over fifty years, this community utilized a barren strip of land to farm with varying results. The nearest grocery store at the time was a supercenter that was located 8.1 miles away from the community in an entirely different City.

"Africatown has a rich history of agriculture with people gardening in the community for over 50 years," said Cleon Jones, President of the Africatown Community Development Corporation. "This new irrigation system will make it easier to supply water to the full garden and to supply the community with fresh organic food."

The Africatown Community and Homestead Garden Program has successfully provided a means by which the community can reclaim a sense of self-reliance, self-sufficiency and self-sustainment.