West Alabama Food & Wine Festival Sets 2027 Dates & Nonprofit Beneficiaries

The West Alabama Food & Wine Festival will split the proceeds of its 2027 event between Schoolyard Roots and Table of Grace, organizers announced Monday.

The festival is set for Sunday, April 18, 2027 in historic downtown Northport, and tickets go on sale December 1. Schoolyard Roots joins as the newest beneficiary under a two-year partnership, and Table of Grace returns for a second year.

Schoolyard Roots has spent more than 16 years connecting children to fresh food and the natural world through school gardens. With the festival’s support, the nonprofit plans to launch an expanded after-school garden program in the fall of 2027, starting with the schools it identifies as having the greatest need and growing to eight schools by the spring of 2028.

“We are so honored and so excited to be selected as a beneficiary of the festival,” said Nicole Gelb Dugat, executive director of Schoolyard Roots. “The festival brings together the people who feed our region, and to have them believe in what happens in our school gardens is a real gift.”

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The program will give students more chances to plant, maintain, harvest, prepare and taste the food they grow.

She framed the connection between a food festival and a school garden in plain terms.

“Every ticket, every sip, and every bite at the festival helps a local kid get their hands in the soil,” Dugat said. “You’re giving a child the chance to pull a carrot out of the ground for the first time, to taste a strawberry still warm from the sun, and to feel proud of something they grew with their own hands.”

Table of Grace returns for a second year. The organization works against food insecurity in West Alabama through a client-choice food pantry, and festival organizers said the continued support will help it build on that work.

The festival has raised money for West Alabama causes since it was founded in 2012. Past beneficiaries include the American Red Cross, the West Alabama Food Bank, Turning Point, the Humane Society of West Alabama and Table of Grace.

The 2026 festival raised $76,000, which was divided between Table of Grace and the Humane Society of West Alabama.

“What makes this festival so special is that our impact reaches far beyond food and wine,” said Amy Martin, executive director of the West Alabama Food & Wine Festival. “Over the years, we’ve supported organizations addressing everything from disaster relief and domestic violence to animal welfare and food insecurity. Now, with Schoolyard Roots, we’re helping introduce the next generation to the importance of fresh food and where it comes from. We’re incredibly proud of the difference our festival partners and attendees continue to make throughout West Alabama.”

The 2027 festival will again gather local restaurants, food trucks and beverage vendors for an afternoon in downtown Northport. More information is at westalabamafoodandwine.org.

For more exclusive coverage of food, drink and the nonprofits serving West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.

This story was made possible thanks to information submitted to the Tuscaloosa Thread. If you have information about a nonprofit or local organization and would like to see it published, don’t hesitate to get in touch with editor Stephen Dethrage at stephen.dethrage@townsquaremedia.com.