In 2022, the Bethlehem Community Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was awarded a grant
from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to install pollinator beds in their urban 
community garden, The Farm at the Beth. Pollinators are essential to food production, with 
three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35% of the world’s food crops depending on 
animal pollinators to reproduce.

The Farm at the Beth was created out of necessity in 2020. Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, 
residents of Chattanooga faced major issues related to food insecurity. The recognition of this 
communal need inspired Dr. Reginald Floyd Smith II, the executive director of the center, to take 
action to help serve his community through this garden.

The Food Access Research Atlas was created by the USDA Economic Research Service to determine food 
deserts on the basis of low income and low food access using census data. The southside of 
Chattanooga meets both criteria with 26.8% of total households in the area living without a vehicle 
and living over a half a mile from a grocery store.

The Bethlehem Center is located on Chattanooga’s West 38ᵗʰ Street. Growing in this section of
the city is not easy, as it’s industrial past has earned its soil the label of a “brownfield site” 
by the Environmental Protection Agency, indicating potentially hazardous substances in the ground 
of the surrounding area.

Since 2020 the farm has expanded to over 20,000 feet of growing space with a hoophouse and 
rainwater catchment system. Despite the center’s best efforts, it was clear to Lillian Moore, 
director of food security, and Damon Bartos, farm coordinator, that more help was needed to
help manage the farm’s growth. After 14,000 bees were generously gifted to the center, the need to 
develop infrastructure to support their new “winged employees” was apparent. This need led them to 
NRCS.

After they applied for the grant in 2022, the Bethlehem Center worked with Arthur Hawkins, NRCS 
assistant state conservationist for field operations, and Cameron Delligatti, NRCS district 
conservationist, to install the pollinator beds in the community garden. The pollinator beds have 
been a vital addition to The Farm at the Beth to attract and retain local pollinators, increasing 
production capacity and adding to the garden’s aesthetic value.

“The monetary and technical support of the NRCS was invaluable in making this project a success,” 
said Smith. “Creating a pollinator habitat in the urban core is a win for both environmental health 
and the beautification of our neighborhood, which ties in perfectly with our vision of creating a 
legacy of abundance.”

As of August 2024, The Farm at the Beth has produced and given away over 2,000 lbs. of produce to 
neighbors and friends through its food pantry, after school program giveaway and
weekly outdoor produce stands.

“Urban agriculture is growing in Chattanooga,” said Hawkins. “NRCS is proud to partner with
the Bethlehem Center as it is a neighborhood centerpiece and hub of community engagement. With 
Chattanooga recently being designated as a National Park City, NRCS hopes this will be an impetus 
for future conservation projects.”

We wish to extend a huge thank you to the Bethlehem Center staff members who helped share their 
stories for this article, along with their 14,000 colleagues who helped make this project 
successful.

With the mission of “Helping People Help the Land,” NRCS Tennessee provides products and services 
that enable people to be good stewards of the state’s soil, water, plants and other related natural 
resources on private lands through voluntary conservation efforts. Visit one of our 72 field 
offices throughout Tennessee to learn how the NRCS can assist with conservation in
your community.