Jamila Norman, a first-generation daughter of Caribbean parents with a deep-rooted history in agriculture, is a prominent figure among Black urban farmers and in the food activism scene.
After finishing an environmental engineering degree from the University of Georgia, Norman spent a decade at the State of Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division before embarking on a mission to transform her community’s food landscape.
While in Atlanta, Norman noticed the prevalence of food deserts in her community. Food deserts are areas where people need more access to affordable, healthy food, like fresh fruits and vegetables, because there are few or no grocery stores, farmers’ markets, or other sources of fresh food nearby.
“I moved to Atlanta and noticed the lack of access to fresh, healthy food in my neighborhood, West End,” she says. “This inspired me to start growing food in partnership with others in the community. In 2010, we founded Patchwork City Farms on a one-acre property.”
Continuing the Legacy of Our Ancestors
Statistics on Black urban farmers are limited due to underreporting and lack of specific data. However, the USDA notes a rise in urban agriculture over the past decade, driven by food insecurity, climate change, and urbanization.
This trend accelerated after COVID-19 as people sought to mitigate food supply disruptions. Norman started as a Black urban farmer earlier than most but wouldn’t call herself a pioneer.
“I see it more as continuing the legacy of our ancestors and community. My business partner at the time and I were perhaps the most visible at the time because we weren’t uncomfortable in predominantly white spaces.”
Norman and her business partner, Cecilia Gathu, took over a project at Brown Middle School, where a nonprofit had started gardening and food distribution for the local community under a contract with Atlanta Public Schools. After the nonprofit volunteers burned out, Norman and Gathu stepped in.
“We took over the contract and founded Patchwork City Farms as an LLC, just as a business,” Norman explains. “It took us eleven months working with Atlanta Public Schools to transfer the lease from the nonprofit to Patchwork City Farms. That was our first farm site.”
Atlanta’s relaxed rules allowed farming on private property or with the owner’s permission, but beyond that, city support was minimal. Norman and Gathu had to rely on their families’ agricultural backgrounds.
“My great-grandparents farmed in Jamaica and Trinidad, but after two generations, left the farm to find better opportunities, as many families did. We just found ourselves coming back to it. Cecilia, who’s Kenyan, had grandparents who farmed in Kenya before her family came to America. We were the generation that picked it back up.”
In the early stages, Norman leaned on various resources. “I did a lot of reading. I always knew I wanted to grow food for myself, thinking it would come later in life, but it found me sooner. All that knowledge I had gathered for ‘one day’ became valuable and helped guide us. So we just went for it. We read, watched YouTube videos, and then worked hard.”
By Stephanie Teasley
