The city of Jonesboro will celebrate its inclusion in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s and Food Well Alliance’s “City Agriculture Plan” with a morning of garden prep Saturday.

Residents are invited to the event from 10 a.m.-noon at the Jonesboro Community Garden near the BB&T Bank location at 223 North Main Street in downtown Jonesboro.

The Clayton County community was recently selected as the third city in the state to participate in the ARC and Food Well Alliance program, which helps municipalities create sustainable community food systems.

Introduced in 2019, the plan, whose participants also include East Point and Alpharetta, awards program cities $75,000 to get the initiative up and running.

Jonesboro has a weekly farmers market with more than 50 regular vendors and a growing community gardens program run through the Jonesboro Police Department, the city said in an announcement of its selection.

“I am so excited for the potential to foster a sense of community and social cohesion by bringing Jonesboro citizens together around a common goal,” Jonesboro Chief of Police Tommy Henderson said. “We are humbled and grateful to be chosen to execute upon the ARC and Food Well Alliance City Agriculture Plan.”

Food Well Alliance Policy and Planning Manager Sarah Brown said the group will help Jonesboro “build on community assets and develop a plan that reflects their residents’ priorities for local food and agriculture.”

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