Thank you for a KILLER Tomato Fest Season!

By Danny Harper

Danny Harper is the Development and Communications Manager at Georgia Organics.

*Georgia Organics staff and AKTF volunteers. Photo by Erik Meadows.*

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s Killer Tomato events! Between our pop-up farmers market and the 13th annual Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival (AKTF), this year’s tomato season was one for the books.

We kicked off the party with Heirloom Tomatoes Are Killer, hosted at the East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, in collaboration with Slow Food Atlanta and A Sip of Paradise Garden. We all had a blast sampling this season’s harvest of heirloom, Sungold, Martha Washington, and more tomato varieties from Cosmos Farm and  Our Apothecary! It was a beautiful day sharing our love for the seasonal crop with the EAV community.

Georgia Organics staff and volunteers at — *Georgia Organics at East Atlanta Village Farmers Market for Heirloom Tomatoes Are Killer. Photo by Terence Chiyezhan.*

But the party was only just heating up—on July 28th, Atlanta's best chefs and mixologists convened with the most passionate foodies in the region for AKTF 2024! Hosted this year at Westside Motor Lounge, AKTF is Georgia Organics’ largest yearly fundraiser and where all corners of the food industry—farmers, chefs, and eaters—meet for a day of tasting, dancing, and giving.

“Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival is a way to celebrate the impact and contributions of Georgia farmers to our local communities. And, restaurants and chefs are a cornerstone of those local communities,” said Natasha Paracha, Georgia Organics’ Director of Events. “To have our restaurant community come together to showcase their creativity and their passion for serving dishes featuring tomatoes from local Georgia farmers is a great way to connect people to the source of their food.”

AKTF attendees inside Westside Motor Lounge. — *AKTF 2024 attendees inside the Westside Motor Lounge. Photo by Erik Meadows.*

Jen Chan's, restaurant participants, at AKTF 2024. — *Jen Chan’s at AKTF 2024.* *Photo by Erik Meadows.*

The Buenos Dias Cafe booth and table spread at AKTF 2024. — *Buenos Dias Cafe at AKTF 2024.* *Photo by Erik Meadows.*

Though it was the 13th iteration of AKTF, this year was only the second time Georgia Organics staff headed the festivities. As the new stewards of AKTF, we are happy to share AKTF 2024 raised more than $50,000 for our work supporting the local farmers who nurture the land, people, and communities we call home! We also doubled down on our commitment to farmers by curating a lineup almost exclusively of restaurants enrolled in GO’s Farmer Champion program, which honors the food industry professionals in Georgia who are committed to investing in local economies, reducing their carbon footprint, and making sustainable and organic farming more viable by sourcing locally. Additional accomplishments from this year’s festival include:

All tomatoes sourced from local farmers

Diverted 2,160 lbs of waste away from landfills (that's 400 lbs of compost, 480 lbs of glass, 180 lbs of aluminum and plastic, and 100 lbs of cardboard!)

Supported local artists through our entertainment program, merchandise, and signage

While the day started out rainy, our GO team of staff and volunteers, as well as all the participating restaurants, quickly got to work putting together a killer party for everyone. Thankfully, things dried up in time for attendees to enjoy all the bites we had to offer—hats off to our Tomato Champions of 2024, including “Best Dish” winner Bread and Butterfly’s spin on a classic Southern-style tomato biscuits and gravy, and “Best Cocktail” winner SamWitch Shop’s refreshing tomato Jello shot with a layer of green tomato gelee.

*Jello Shots by SamWitch Shop.* *Photo by Erik Meadows.*

Adding to the local flair were several talented Atlanta artists. DJ Santiago Páramo kept the beats bumping all afternoon; large-scale “killer” tomato puppets, created by artist Julia Hill, brought the day’s theme to life in fun and utterly terrifying fashion; and performances by Giwayen Mata, an “all-sistah” dance group celebrating women of African diaspora got everyone moving and up on their feet (despite the full bellies)!

*Giwayen Mata performing at AKTF 2024.* *Photo by Erik Meadows.*

Large-scale tomato puppets by Julia Hill and puppet operators playing limbo. — *A game of limbo brought to you by the Killer Tomato Puppet team.* *Photo by Erik Meadows.*

Large-scale tomato puppet by Julia Hill and puppet operators playing with a child. — *The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes vs. the Kid.* *Photo by Erik Meadows.*

Thanks most of all to the tomato farmers and their crops spotlighted at AKTF this year, without whom there would be no festival to speak of.

Ilana Margulis of Levity Farms shared, “It’s a big fun party with the fellow industry workers. I think it’s important because the farmers bring the food to the restaurant but sometimes that’s where it ends for us—then the restaurant gets to serve it to the people. But this is a cool way for farmers to see the other side of it. Everybody needs to be able to hang out around the industry they care about.”

Reflecting on the impact of the festival, Alexis Chase, Executive Director of Georgia Organics, added, “When we source locally, we are supporting someone we might know. And, when we support local, small farms that money goes right back into our local communities.”