Three Innovative Solutions to Strengthen Atlanta’s Sustainable Development
Back in February, Thought For Food supported an award at Aglanta’s Summit, where a number of young innovators showcased their projects where community and technology work together to grow more food, create more jobs, and strengthen sustainable development in the City of Atlanta by 2020!
With their first event on February 19th, 2017 being a huge success, the Aglanta team is back with the Aglanta Forum July 21-22nd, followed by the Taste of Aglanta at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market! Expect an evening filled with the best of the Atlanta local food scene, innovations in food and agriculture accessible to you today. With this quickly approaching, we wanted to go back and revisit the top three finalist teams from the Aglanta pitch contest! Let’s start with the grand prize winner, Jamie Curtis!
Tell us a little bit about your journey. Who are you & where are you from?
I’m from Redding, Conneticut. I first learned about hydroponics through a program in my hometown to create a redevelopment plan for an abandoned wire mill site and was so excited to find an opportunity for hands-on experience growing plants hydroponically through Engineers for a Sustainable World at Georgia Tech, where I currently study materials science and engineering.
How has participating in the Aglanta Pitch Conference helped you bring your idea to life?
Participating in the Aglanta Pitch Competition has helped bring my idea to life because it allowed me to meet John Seydel, Atlanta’s Director of Sustainability, and meet leaders from a variety of vertical farming companies. It also gave me validation that my idea is worthwhile.
Describe 3 values which will guide your unique leadership style in the future!
Innovation – this will ensure I always consider new, more efficient ideas and not just what’s always been done before
Family/Community – my focus on close relationships will make sure that I treat team members as family members and get to know them personally in addition to professionally
Integrity – I have a very strong moral code that guides everything I do, and this will guide my projects in the workplace as well.
Tell us a little bit about your journey. Who are you & where are you from?
My name is Robert Celik. I am a diverse and driven third year university student from Toronto, Canada. I am fascinated by scalable ideas and implementing technology to solve large scale problems. I plan to transform green spaces into food production environments, by connecting land owners with urban farmers willing to cultivate their land. My idea, Patches, is similar to what Airbnb is doing for room rentals, but instead for the goal of sustainable, local food production.
Why did you apply to Aglanta? What were you aiming to achieve from the pitch contest?
I had never been to Atlanta before, but through my own research I determined that it was home to one of the biggest urban food deserts in the United States. Meanwhile, the city has incredible amounts of vacant green spaces, such as back yards. It was only logical that if I helped maximize land use I could mitigate the current food access problems in the city.
I was aiming to win the competition to offset the cost of my flight and hotel. Fortunately the value gained from attending the conference was significantly greater that the cost to get there.
How has participating in the Aglanta Pitch Conference helped you bring your idea to life?
My experience at Aglanta has been a major catalyst on my entrepreneurial journey. I was able to interact with great people and make strategic connections. I was overwhelmed by the immense support from those who approached me after the pitch. This conference served as resource portal as well as a vital stepping-stone.
Describe 3 values which will guide your unique leadership style in the future!
Focus, Clarity, and Understanding.
Focus is not only the benchmark of passion but also a key to success. I am willing to put everything into this venture and I expect the same level of commitment from others.
Clarity relates to effectively communicating with others as well as setting tangible expectations. Real time communication and evaluation are essential on any team.
Understanding is a virtue that facilitates collaboration between people of different backgrounds and skill sets. Diversity on a team promotes innovation and well-formulated solutions.
Tell us a little bit about your journey. Who are you & where are you from?
My name is Nicole Kennard, and I'm from Acworth, GA (a suburb about 45 minutes north of Atlanta). I now live in Atlanta as I attend the Georgia Institute of Technology as a Materials Science and Engineering major, and I will be graduating this May! My passions include urban ag, food access/food security issues and especially how this relates to social inequity in Atlanta, as well as sustainable design and materials. My hobbies include music, hiking, and backpacking!
Why did you apply to Aglanta? What were you aiming to achieve from the pitch contest?
I applied to Aglanta because I thought the conference was a major milestone in Atlanta's future; you can see that the city is now committed to facilitating and helping urban agriculture grow. I specifically applied with my pitch of introducing a community-themed food hub because I have received a lot of feedback from urban farmers that one of the major problems they face is distributing and selling their produce, as well as educating people in the community that there is local produce in Atlanta, and they can visit the farms and buy produce there!
My career goal is to develop a more sustainable and engaged community culture in Atlanta, and I believe my food hub idea would contribute greatly to that vision. From entering the contest, I just wanted to share my vision and my passion with others there who are also committed to a resilient future in the city.
How has participating in the Aglanta Pitch Conference helped you bring your idea to life?
After speaking at the pitch contest, I was approached by several people- urban farmers, public officials, professionals - who expressed interest in my idea and said that they saw a major need and opportunity for a food hub like this in the city. Participating in the pitch contest connected me with these people who were also inspired by my vision, and I hope to collaborate with them in the future to bring this idea to life!
The Aglanta Conference is a gathering to showcase urban and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) innovation in the City of Atlanta, foster community engagement, and generate economic development. It will bring together restauranteurs, grocers, architects, entrepreneurs, technologists, business owners, and of course urban farmers for premium networking and knowledge sharing. Education, economic development, emerging technologies, sustainability, and financing topics will be covered throughout the event. For more information, head to https://www.aglanta.org.
