By Sydney Sevdalis
In Southeast Atlanta, spring shows up in small, familiar ways. Garden beds get cleared, seed packets land on kitchen counters, and neighbors start asking the same question: what are you planting this year?
This year, that instinct is being met with something more intentional.
Through Slow Food USA’s Plant a Seed program, a small but meaningful collection of ingredients is making its way into school gardens, community plots, and backyard beds across the country, including here in Atlanta. Each seed tells a story, not just of what can be grown, but of what disappears quietly if no one chooses to grow it again.
At the center of the program is the Ark of Taste, an international catalog of culturally significant foods that are endangered or disappearing. This year’s featured varieties include the Sea Island Red Pea, Moon and Stars watermelon, Jimmy Nardello pepper, Boston Marrow squash, Carolina African Runner peanuts, and the Brandywine tomato. Each carries a story of place, resilience, and flavor. Together, they offer a glimpse of what our food system used to look like, and what it still could be.
Among them is the Moon and Stars watermelon, a striking heirloom known for its deep green rind speckled with yellow “stars” and one large “moon.” It’s a variety that feels almost mythical when you first see it, and one that reminds us how much diversity once existed, and still can, in the foods we grow. For those not planting this season, it will also be available locally through Sprouts Farmers Market, offering a rare chance to experience it firsthand.
The goal of Plant a Seed is simple, but far-reaching. By placing these varieties into school and community gardens, the program creates a direct line between education, cultivation, and cultural memory. It invites young growers, neighborhood volunteers, and home gardeners alike to participate in something larger than a single harvest.
In Atlanta, that work is being carried forward not just in the soil, but in the kitchen.
This year’s program is being shaped in part by a strong group of Atlanta chefs and local farms who are contributing recipes that bring these ingredients to life and root them in Atlanta’s kitchens. Participating contributors include Little Bear, Prana Kitchens, Cheffrey’s Kitchen, Leon’s Full Service, Ry’s Table, Unearthing Farm & Market, The Chai Box, and Kaluna Farm Retreat located in Talking Rock, Georgia.
Their role is not just to cook, but to translate. They turn heritage crops into dishes that feel relevant, accessible, and worth returning to. In doing so, they help bridge the gap between growing food and understanding why it matters. This is where preservation becomes practice.
That connection between growing, cooking, and sharing food is at the heart of Slow Food USA’s Joyful Dinner Series, a nationwide initiative centered on community-driven meals that celebrate the traditions and stories behind what we eat. At its core, it’s a simple idea. Sit down, share a meal, and remember that food is meant to connect us.
Across the country, these dinners are taking place in restaurants, on farms, and in backyards. They bring people together around a shared table with a shared purpose. Food becomes a source of joy, a tool for connection, and a way to build a more just and sustainable food system.
Here in Southeast Atlanta, that spirit will take shape this spring at Auburn Angel, where Chef Robert Butts and his team will host one of the season’s gatherings. Known for their thoughtful, ingredient-driven approach, the team at Auburn Angel reflects the kind of care and intention that defines the Slow Food movement. Their cooking feels both grounded and deeply considered. It’s the kind of place that reflects what’s possible when care for ingredients meets care for community.
More than a single dinner, the series invites anyone to participate, whether by attending, hosting, or simply gathering people together around a meal. In a time when many are feeling increasingly disconnected, the act of sitting down to eat with others becomes something meaningful again.
For those reading from home, the invitation is a simple one:
Plant something, if you can.
Pay attention to what’s growing around you.
And if curiosity leads you a little further, pull up a chair at a Joyful Dinner.
Because the story of food doesn’t begin in the kitchen. It begins with what we choose to grow, and what we choose to keep.
For more information or to get seeds for your garden go to slowfoodusa.org and follow @slowfoodatl | @slowfoodusa | @auburnangelatl on Instagram.
