Blooming with Possibilities
Organic Farm-to-Table
Growing & Harvesting Year-Round
In 2000, the Volunteer Master Gardeners of Cobb County established a garden on the CCYA campus to promote nutrition, healthy eating, and access to fresh produce for the CCYA Meal Services Program.
Today, the 1.5-acre campus garden has grown into a thriving agricultural space featuring the Veggie Patch, Berry Patch, Melon Hill, Herb Garden, Pollinator Garden, Flower Garden, a High Tunnel (hoop house) for year-round cultivation, and a chicken coop affectionately known as "The Egg Plant." Together, these areas span the back portion of the CCYA campus and provide a vibrant learning and growing environment.
The gardens and The Egg Plant are managed by a CCYA Farmer alongside a dedicated team of volunteers. Together, they cultivate more than 1,800 pounds of fresh, organically grown produce each year, which is harvested and served through the CCYA cafeteria. This farm-to-table program helps provide nutritious meals for youth residents every day.
Thanks to the High Hoop Tunnel, fresh produce is grown throughout the year. Crops include collards, kale, lettuce, cabbage, peas, green beans, okra, cucumbers, onions, radishes, carrots, corn, squash, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, herbs, watermelon, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and figs. In addition, The Egg Plant produces more than 800 fresh eggs annually, further supporting the campus meal program.
The garden also provides valuable hands-on learning and employment opportunities. During harvest seasons, several CCYA residents participate in the Garden Youth Apprenticeship Program, earning money, gaining experience in agriculture, responsibility, teamwork, and food production. Some apprentices also work alongside CCYA chefs in the cafeteria, helping prepare meals made with ingredients they helped grow.
At CCYA, the garden is more than a source of fresh food—it is a place where education, nutrition, and opportunity come together.
At CCYA, our gardens and meals are truly Blooming with Possibilities!
At the heart of the CCYA campus, something beautiful is taking root — and not just vegetables. Under the care of new gardener and farmer Antrica Feaster, the campus garden has blossomed into a symbol of healing, hope, and fresh starts.
"I love that the garden represents a new chance at life," Antrica says. "Things that are seen as weeds can flourish into plants that help heal, bringing beauty and nourishment into the world."
That vision is branching into every corner of the garden. Antrica dreams of creating a peaceful therapy garden filled with calming sounds, vibrant flowers, and fragrant herbs designed to help residents pause, rest, and reconnect. Plans are also sprouting for a new flower garden where residents can learn bouquet-making skills and a medicinal herb garden with plants used for soaps, body butters, and meals. And the impact continues to grow beyond beauty.
The garden provides fresh food for residents while helping offset food costs and planting seeds of knowledge about agriculture, nutrition, and sustainability throughout the campus community.
"Volunteering and donating to the garden allow people to experience how important the garden is to our facility," Antrica explains. "We use the produce grown in the garden to educate our internal community about food, and donating allows the public to put their money where our mouths are. Literally."
For Antrica, farming is also deeply rooted in family history. Although she resisted agriculture as a teenager, discovering her family's farming legacy changed everything.
"Farming goes back more than 200 years in my family," she says. "My great-great-great-grandfather purchased land in Arkansas in 1867, and that land is still being farmed and in my family to this day." Now, she's bringing that legacy to CCYA — cultivating not only fresh food, but also growth, healing, and community for seasons to come.