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Starting a Farm in an Urban Food Desert

East Chattanooga is a “food desert.” There aren’t any supermarkets in the neighborhood, and many of the people live on processed foods from fast food restaurants and convenience markets. Joel Tippens is part of a group called Fair Share Urban Growers. The group has begun developing what they’re calling an “urban farm” on Roanoke Avenue, across the street from the recently closed Harriet Tubman Housing Project. Their goal is to teach a new generation how to grow their own food. When Richard Winham visited the farm recently, he found Joel Tippens busily preparing for the coming growing season.

Richard Winham joined WUTC five years after the station began broadcasting to the Chattanooga area and the Tennessee Valley.