JUNE UPDATE: Community Engagement and Garden Initiatives

Over the past few months, our team has been hard at work deepening our roots in Atlanta, and this season, that work took us somewhere especially close to our hearts.

Garden Building

We're proud to have organized a volunteer workday at Nicholas House, one of Atlanta's dedicated shelters in the fight against homelessness. Our team rolled up their sleeves alongside volunteers to dig, plant, and pour genuine care into a community that deserves far more than it too often receives.

The need is real and growing. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Georgia has seen a significant rise in family homelessness in recent years, a sobering reminder that food access and stable living environments are inseparable. A garden is a small act, but it's a meaningful one.

Volunteers tackled everything from bed preparation and planting to general site care, transforming an overlooked corner of space into something alive and nourishing. Together, we put cucumbers, peppers, sweet potatoes, squash, watermelon, basil, and more into the ground, fresh produce grown with intention for the residents who call Nicholas House home.

This is just the beginning. We're committed to building a lasting relationship with Nicholas House, and we'd love for you to be part of what comes next. Join us at our next workday to help expand the garden's reach and impact. Just reach out to get involved.

Composting

Thanks to our ongoing partnership with CompostNow, we are thrilled to announce that we donated over 2500 pounds of compost for this effort. That is 2500 pounds of food waste diverted from landfills and redirected into soil that feeds people.

The EPA estimates that food is the single largest category of material sent to U.S. landfills, and every pound we compost instead is a small victory for our city's food system. We are grateful to CompostNow for making this possible and encourage you to support the loop by joining their garden partner program and directing your compost our way.

Looking Forward

The work doesn't stop here. As summer unfolds, we're focused on deepening our roots in the community, both through our own growing efforts and by showing up to support other gardens doing meaningful work across the city. Volunteering alongside neighbors and organizations with the same vision is just as important to us as what we cultivate in our own beds.

On the science side, we're gearing up for our second round of soil testing, this time with more precise procedures and detailed reporting. Healthy soil is the foundation of everything we grow, and we're committed to understanding it better with each season.

We're also venturing into some exciting new territory by exploring the role of mycorrhizal fungi in garden health. These underground networks, which connect plant roots and help them absorb nutrients more effectively, have shown real promise in boosting the resilience and yield of gardens like ours. We'll be experimenting in our own beds first, and if the results are encouraging, we plan to expand the approach further.

There's a lot to look forward to, and we're glad to be growing alongside this community. Stay tuned, and as always, reach out if you'd like to get involved.