Preschool growing fruits and veggies ordered by city to stop sales

The national farm to school movement has grown so fast that it is challenging traditional notions of city planning, and a Clayton County preschool is at ground zero in the conflict.

The Little Ones Learning Center in Forest Park has a nationally recognized garden-based education program. In 2015, it merited a visit by then-first lady Sandra Deal, who watched the children tasting fresh juice. “It was a treat to see your early learning center practicing good nutrition with a bountiful garden,” she wrote in a letter to the school.

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“Anywhere you live, you’ve got to have rules and regulations,” Forest Park City Manager Angela Redding said. “Otherwise, you would just have whatever.”

Redding, the Forest Park city manager, said the farm stand was a safety concern. Parked cars lined the street the day a code enforcement officer shut it down. Okunoren-Meadows still has options. Besides relocating her farm stand to the city property, she can file for a special permit each time she wants to sell. There is a $50 fee that covers any needed police presence or other safety measures, Redding said, adding the city “can work with her” on the cost.

“If we change the ordinance, then that means every person in a residential area could have a farm stand, and we could end up with one on every corner,” Redding said.

That is the core of the disagreement: the old order versus new ways of living.

Preschool growing fruits and veggies ordered by city to stop sales // https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/preschool-growing-fruits-and-veggies-ordered-city-stop-sales/ljRlIT24BmVsGMrAMYyPyJ/

A Real Life Solarpunk story unfolding in real time in Clayton County Georgia right now!