Fountain Heights hasn’t had a grocery store in nearly 70 years ––We’re changing that.
The Heart of the Farm is the future home of a Neighborhood Market Cooperative and Community Kitchen in Fountain Heights. This space provides access to fresh foods in a USDA-defined food desert, while also creating economic opportunity for local residents.
We Broke Ground!
On July 9, 2025, we celebrated a huge milestone: the official groundbreaking for Heart of the Farm. More than 75 people—neighbors, city leaders, farmers, and friends—came together right here in Fountain Heights to mark the start of something special.
The event was full of joy, love, and powerful words from people who believe in what this project means for our neighborhood. Leaders from the City of Birmingham, the National Black Food and Justice Alliance, REV Birmingham, and others shared their support and reminded us just how big of a deal this is.
We’re building more than just a market and kitchen. We’re creating space for people to grow food, build businesses, and connect with each other in meaningful ways.
We couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick this off.
A special thanks to our partners!
What Heart of the Farm makes possible…
Economic Opportunity
9 quality jobs created
Affordable commercial kitchen access for food businesses
Increased home value with neighborhood beautification
FOOD ACCESS
25,000lbs of nutritious, fresh food each year
3,000+ local residents served
Classroom for community & farm education
Project Phases
Floor Plans
The Challenge
Like many building projects today, rising construction costs have created a new hurdle. Since we first began fundraising, inflation has driven prices up significantly. Now that construction is underway, we’re facing a $300,000 funding gap.
Without closing this gap, we can’t complete the full build-out—limiting the building’s functionality and our ability to expand food access and economic opportunity.
WHAT WE CAN DO with current funding
Thanks to flexible construction partners, we can move forward with most of the first floor, including:
Neighborhood Market
Commercial Kitchen
Classrooms
ADA-accessible restrooms
WHAT’S AT RISK with your support
We won’t be able to build out the second floor, which provides:
Living space for apprentices
Office space for staff, interns, and volunteers.
Without this space, we can’t fully staff operations, meaning fewer jobs, fewer hands, and less food grown for our community.
Project Phases
Floor Plans
The Challenge
Like many building projects today, rising construction costs have created a new hurdle. Since we first began fundraising, inflation has driven prices up significantly. Now that construction is underway, we’re facing a $300,000 funding gap.
Without closing this gap, we can’t complete the full build-out—limiting the building’s functionality and our ability to expand food access and economic opportunity.
WHAT WE CAN DO with current funding
Thanks to flexible construction partners, we can move forward with most of the first floor, including:
Neighborhood Market
Commercial Kitchen
Classrooms
ADA-accessible restrooms
WHAT’S AT RISK with your support
We won’t be able to build out the second floor, which provides:
Living space for apprentices
Office space for staff, interns, and volunteers.
Without this space, we can’t fully staff operations, meaning fewer jobs, fewer hands, and less food grown for our community.
LET’S CLOSE THE GAP.
Your support will help us finish what we started—and deliver on the promise of fresh food and economic opportunity for Fountain Heights.
Our community knows how to make $1 out of $0.15—we’ve done it time and time again. But we shouldn’t have to stretch every dollar just to build something this essential.
This space will feed families, create jobs, and bring dignity and opportunity back to our neighborhood.