In the Spring of 2019, Food Well Alliance launched Atlanta’s first Urban Agriculture Tool Lending program, in partnership with the Atlanta ToolBank and with the generous support of Whole Foods Market & The Glenn Family Foundation. We have learned from our network of local food leaders that affordable access to heavy duty professional-grade tools is a major barrier to community gardens and urban farms in metro Atlanta.

In response to this need, Food Well Alliance has established an urban agriculture tool lending program at the Atlanta ToolBank where community gardeners and urban farmers can borrow BCS tractors year-round. BCS tractors and attachments are available for growers who have successfully completed the Food Well Alliance sub-user membership process. Learn more about our process below.

How Does it Work?

As a sub-user of Food Well Alliance, all tool handling fees charged by the Atlanta ToolBank each time the tractors are borrowed will be covered by Food Well Alliance, as the member agency. To become an approved sub-user of Food Well Alliance at the Atlanta ToolBank, interested growers must:

Complete a BCS tractor training
Sign a sub-user membership agreement and liability form with Food Well Alliance
Pay a $75 annual sub-user membership fee for year-round access to the BCS tractors and attachments or pay a one-time payment of $35 if you would only like to borrow the equipment once.
Create a sub-user account with the Atlanta ToolBank. Please see "How do I sign up to borrow equipment" on our Tool Lending FAQ page for more information.

Eligibility & Criteria

Urban farms and community gardens must be located in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.
Please review our community garden & urban farm eligibility criteria here.

Register for BCS Training

If you are interested in accessing the Urban Agriculture Tool Lending Program year-round by becoming a sub-user of Food Well Alliance’s membership at the Atlanta ToolBank, register below for a BCS training. This hands-on training covers operation, transport, safety, and equipment security of the BCS Tractor and will last approximately 1-2 hours. Click on the button below to complete a brief registration form and get started!

Click Here to Register for a BCS Training

Please note:

Only the individual who registers and attends the training will be able to use the equipment.
Currently two 1-on-1 training slots are offered every other Sunday. This allows a grower who was trained to benefit from the program immediately and also allows current program members to continue borrowing the equipment. We will continue to assess this and make adjustments accordingly.

New Member Training - all community gardeners and farmers new to borrowing and using the Urban Ag Tool Lending Program equipment are required to complete a New Member Training.

A New Member Training is 1 - 2 hours, depending on the grower's previous BCS experience.
- You will indicate your level of experience using a BCS tractor when signing up for the training
Currently, to ensure safety during COVID-19 times, New Member Trainings are one-on-one between a grower and a training instructor. We will continue to reassess the situation in hopes of being able to offer small group trainings again in the future.
Any growers who will be using the equipment, must be a member of the program and therefore complete a New Member Training

Refresher Training - if you are an existing member of the program (i.e. have already completed a New Member Training) and would like additional hands on experience with the equipment and support from a training instructor, you are welcome to sign up for a 1-hour Refresher Training. This option is a great way for growers to get more comfortable with using the equipment if you have not used the BCS tractor in some time or if you still have some questions about operating the equipment on your own. Click the Registration Button above to get started!

Have more questions about the Tool Lending Program? Visit our Tool Lending FAQ page here.

Training Videos

Did you know that the Atlanta ToolBank has other farming & gardening tools in their inventory?

Separate from the Urban Ag Tool Lending Program, the Atlanta ToolBank has the following equipment that metro Atlanta growers might find useful:

Broadforks
Hoes
Loppers & Shears
Mattocks
McLeod Tools
Pitchforks
Pruners
Rakes
Shovels
Weed Wrenches
Weedeaters
Wheelbarrows

A full list of the general inventory can be found here: Atlanta ToolBank Inventory. If you are a member of the Urban Ag Tool Lending Program and have paid your annual dues, you do not have to pay the standard Atlanta ToolBank annual membership dues. You will still have to pay the ToolBank's standard 3% of the equipment cost when you borrow the tools.