Once known as “The Garden City of the South,” Acres Homes was built on self-sufficiency, a place where Black families could own land, raise livestock, and grow enough vegetables to feed entire blocks from their backyard gardens. It was a community rooted in hard work, generosity, and pride.

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But as the city expanded, many of those open fields disappeared. Today, fresh produce can be hard to come by.

Bringing back the garden spirit

CC Brooks, a lifelong resident of Acres Homes, has found a way to bring that farming spirit back, not with plows and soil, but through water, light, and innovation.

“If you’re in an environment and you notice something is not working, you have two choices. You can complain about it or you

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