Fountain Heights celebrates the launch of a new food-focused initiative

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - A new initiative centered around food and entrepreneurship is being launched in the Fountain Heights neighborhood.

According to the Fountain Heights Farms Cooperative (FHFC), their new initiative Heart of the Farm - Market and Community Kitchen launched on Wednesday, July 9, with an investment from the city of Birmingham.

The initiative is focused on providing access to fresh food, a commercial kitchen space and education opportunities in the Fountain Heights community, which according to FHFC co-founder, Dominique Villanueva, has not had a grocery store or market in nearly 70 years.

Specifically, the FHFC says that the location will serve as a hub for food entrepreneurship, as it will provide local farmers and food producers a space to store, prepare and sell their goods.

The Heart of the Farm is reportedly designed to serve more than 3,000 residents and FHFC says it embodies their mission which is to “nourish community connection through food, health and healing.”

The celebration on Wednesday allowed Villanueva, and her fellow co-founder, Chris Gooden, to showcase the location of the future space and discuss the plans for the initiative.

“Today, we are planting more than seeds, we are planting possibilities. Heart of the Farm will pulse with life: produce grown by local hands, meals prepared in a community kitchen, and entrepreneurs building food businesses from the ground up, all coming together to learn, connect and thrive,” said Sherry-Lea Bloodworth Botop, who serves as the chief resilience and sustainability officer for the city of Birmingham. “This project aligns with Birmingham’s core values of resilience, community, leadership and justice.”

The home of the future neighborhood and community kitchen is 1201 16th St N.

The FHFC says that more than 75 community members, city officials, urban farmers and food justice advocates attended the launch on Wednesday to celebrate what they say will soon become a permanent space for food access, education and entrepreneurship.

“Projects like this are the heart and soul of our communities, and they are critical to the survival and resilience of Black and Brown people,” said Cicely Garrett, co-executive director of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance. “I encourage all of us to continue supporting communities like Fountain Heights Farms and the communities in your own backyard. This is what will carry us forward.”

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