Rooted for Good sprouts new name, same mission

DeKALB – DeKalb County Community Gardens has rebranded and now will be known as Rooted for Good, but the organization’s services will remain the same.

Heather Edwards, the organization’s executive director, confirmed the rebrand Tuesday. The food provider’s services have grown beyond DeKalb County.

“The new name better reflects the organization’s commitment to ending hunger, empowering individuals through education and growing community through engaging with others,” Edwards wrote.

Rooted for Good has distributed more than 2 million pounds worth of food since it was founded in 2012. In 2023, more than 30,000 individuals were fed thanks to the organization’s efforts, according to Rooted for Good’s rebranded webpage.

The organization’s many branches, which help grow produce and support area communities, also will undergo a name change. Walnut Grove Vocational Farm is now called Rooted for Good Kirkland. Genoa Area Community Food Hub’s new name is Rooted for Good Genoa, according to the agency’s website.

The Grow Mobile, a mobile food pantry and the nonprofit’s flagship service that provides free food, produce and other items to communities across the region, will be headquartered at Rooted for Good DeKalb, the nonprofit’s home base warehouse.

The nonprofit’s mission is to empower the public to access healthy, sustainably grown food while addressing the root causes of hunger.

How the organization acts on that mission is constantly evolving, however. Edwards wrote that Rooted for Good board members and staff decided upon a name they believe highlights what they seek to accomplish.

In an email with Shaw Local News Network, Edwards said the organization opted to changed its name because “DeKalb County Community Gardens has become much more than a garden which provides healthy food to neighbors.”

“Over the years, Rooted for Good has found additional ways to support the community,” Edwards wrote. “It launched a mobile food pantry and opened a brick-and-mortar food hub in Genoa. It expanded its learning opportunities, placed an educational coordinator in the DeKalb school district and created a vocational training program teaching skills in agriculture and horticulture to people with developmental disabilities.”