Why Atlanta — Alchemy Pot Initiative
Grow Your Emotional Garden™

Why
Atlanta?

One of three pilot regions — alongside Los Angeles and Chicago — for the Alchemy Pot Initiative.

Top 10
U.S. cities for food desert severity — USDA Economic Research Service
ER visits for youth behavioral crises at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta have doubled since 2015 — Mental Health Funders Collaborative
>25%
Child food insecurity in South Atlanta census tracts — more than double the national average
Feeding America / Atlanta Studies
300+
Community gardens and urban farms already active across metro Atlanta
Food Well Alliance / Roundabout Atlanta
89
APS schools with active SEL infrastructure — every one a potential partner
Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta is not
starting from zero.

Atlanta Public Schools has had district-wide SEL aligned with CASEL for a decade. Schools aren't being asked to introduce a new concept. They're being offered a tangible, experiential layer that deepens work already underway. That means faster implementation, stronger staff buy-in, and a replication model that travels.

🌱
The language already exists

SEL vocabulary — self-awareness, emotional regulation, social connection — is already part of how Atlanta teachers talk to students every day.

🏛
The structure already exists

Systems, coordinators, and classroom time are already in place. No new infrastructure required.

🤝
The willingness already exists

The program deepens a practice already underway — it doesn't ask schools to start over. That's a meaningful difference for administrators and teachers alike.

Two Systems. One Initiative.
1
Soil on the Outside

Students transform campus food waste into living soil using the in-ground Soil Maker. Dry land becomes a garden. Waste becomes potential.

2
Soil on the Inside

The Alchemy Pot practice gives students a structured way to process what feels heavy — mirroring the slow, transformative process of composting.

3
The Connection

A student who watches food scraps become living soil doesn't just have a garden. They have proof — in their hands, in the ground — that they can transform what they were given. That belief is what travels with them.

Food Desert Data, Atlanta — USDA Economic Research Service
ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas
Youth Behavioral Health in Georgia — Mental Health Funders Collaborative, October 2024
mhfcga.org/s/GA-Youth-MH-Report-112024.pdf
Child Food Insecurity, South Atlanta — Atlanta Studies / Feeding America Map the Meal Gap
atlantastudies.org — Mapping Food Insecurity in Metro Atlanta
Atlanta Public Schools, District-Wide SEL Implementation since 2015
atlantapublicschools.us/Page/47449
SEL Framework Research — CASEL
casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel
The Opportunity

Helping students transform
their worlds.

The soil and the student. Atlanta is where we begin.

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