Press

Fifty years ago, a group of Washington activists began a movement that revolutionized Western food growing, eating and composting. With a focus on organic farming and sustenance, the group of activists would eventually become Seattle Tilth and later Tilth Alliance, which turns 50 this year.

On a recent drippy Sunday afternoon, dozens of Seattleites made their way from the street onto the bouncy soil of the luscious Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands. As people sipped water infused with salad burnet (an herbaceous plant that tastes exactly like cucumber) and hot tea, the congregants settled around sheltered tables outside — they came to eat, listen, and learn.

While eating fruits and vegetables is good for our health, buying fresh produce isn’t always a reality for the thousands of families in King County who face food insecurity. That’s why Tilth Alliance, a garden and farming nonprofit, is on a mission to bring healthy food into more homes through their Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands which grows 5,000 pounds of produce a year.