Soil Festival 2019 - A Joyful Celebration of Healthy Soil, Local Food and Community  

/ Truly Living Well/

The clouds teased on Saturday, May 4th, but the rain stayed away from the moment Atlanta Brass Connection kicked off Soil Festival 2019 until the last guests said their farewells. The teams at Food Well Alliance and Truly Living Well are so grateful to everyone who made the 5th annual Soil Festival such a memorable day! We welcomed nearly 1,500 attendees who came to experience life on the urban farm — many for the very first time — and discovered a slice of paradise in southwest Atlanta.

We never could have delivered such a rich diversity of options without our incredible host committee, and close to 100 volunteers, caterers, vendors, instructors, and exhibitors. Thank you!

  • The FarmBooth was back and better than before. Y’all looked AWESOME! Go find your photos if you haven’t yet!

  • Workshops and farm tours were overflowing with people eager for tips on composting, gardening, harvesting, cooking, and more.

  • Featured chefs brought their A game and served up the most delicious local food! Plus we had the Good Food Truck on site serving some of the best tacos we’ve ever tasted. And Mocha Pops and Moki Pops for desert. Yum!

  • Could the kids activities get any better? We’ll see, but it’ll be hard to beat with Soccer in the Streets and STEAM Truck joining the ever-popular petting zoo, JR Murphy’s storytelling, and a variety of activities and cooking demos.

  • The street party, beer garden, market and Atlanta Brass Connection added a whole new dimension to the festivities.

  • Lots of folks took Civil Bikes up on their invitation to join them for a bike ride to the festival.

  • Exhibitors booths served a steady stream of visitors with expertise and helpful info.

  • Swag bags with Compost Dos and Don'ts hankie and tin cup were a huge hit.

  • Everyone loved free compost for their gardens, and how about those easy to carry totes? We gave away more than 6 cubic yards (or 6,000 pounds) of healthy compost!

We’re blown away by everyone’s interest in learning more about the benefits of urban agriculture, local food, healthy soil and compost. So many of you let us know you’ll be back next year with friends.

Yay! Yay! Soil!

In the meantime, our local food movement is thriving with multiple events happening across metro Atlanta throughout the year - volunteer opportunities, classes, boot camps, farmers markets, and more. Check out the latest happenings at foodwellalliance.org, and please encourage your friends to do the same. While there, they can also sign up for our newsletter.

One last thank you to everyone who filled out the Soil Festival 2019 survey. Your voice is heard! We appreciate your enthusiasm for this year’s event and excellent suggestions for an even better experience next year. We can’t wait to see you at Soil Festival 2020!

Hashtags and Highlights

“#SoilFestival2019 felt like a family reunion.”
“We’re proud to be in a community who values the importance of healthy soil and its impact for strong, resilient food systems.”
“Thank you for caring and educating the public. I thought it was incredibly inclusive, fun, informative, and delicious! I’m telling everyone about the festival next year!”
“I was truly inspired to get more involved with everything food and farm related.”
“Thank you for all that you do to encourage food independence. I brought my grandchildren and they loved it!”