This Is What Attendees Actually Ate At Woodstock In 1969

People wax poetic about the summer of love and the music festival that spawned all other music festivals, but few talk much about what Woodstock-goers actually ate. During the weekend that became the stuff of lore, Woodstock organizers had a pretty serious practical issue: There wasn't enough food. About 180,000 people bought advance tickets, but according to many estimates, around 400,000 to 500,000 people showed up.

Initially, organizers thought it would be simple to secure food vendors. Instead, they encountered more than a few companies that were less than enthused to serve an undetermined number of attendees in a remote location. A contract with Nathan's Hot Dogs fell through and ultimately, they hired a novice firm called Food for Love, whose concession stands were not fully built out and lacked ample supplies. Extremely long lines and a bewildering decision to increase prices ultimately saw attendees burning down two concession stands (that offered things like hamburgers and hot dogs) in outrage.

That left most attendees in close quarters without sustenance. Thankfully, local organizations quickly pitched in by making and donating various sandwiches. Though accounts vary slightly, locals reportedly also arranged for sandwiches, fruit, and water to be airlifted to the site, and the National Guard even stepped up to donate food. To supplement that, a security and organizing group called "Hog Farm" — members of whose commune were already on-site – led the charge by serving brown rice and vegetables along with something that has become somewhat synonymous with hippie culture: the ingredients for granola. The commune provided what might have been the most notable food item in the form of an overwhelming amount of muesli (which is basically unbaked granola).

According to an attendee, as the folks of Hog Farm commune began to see just how many people were showing up, some members drove into Manhattan to secure ingredients like rolled oats, bulgur wheat, and plenty of other nuts, seeds, and honey. After driving back to Woodstock, they made massive batches of the mixture, which they handed out in paper Dixie cups. Founder and spokesperson for the Hog Farm was Hugh Romney (also known as Wavy Gravy and the inspiration behind the Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor of the same name) memorably called out to the hungry crowd, "What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for four hundred thousand!"

In that moment, the blend of grains, nuts, and fruits was cemented in Woodstock history and likely sowed the seeds of an entirely new category of snacky health food. If all this talk of muesli and granola has you craving some, Kind tops the rankings as the best grocery store granola brand or you can make your own granola at home with a tried-and-true ratio. But if you really want to amplify the toasty and nutty notes of the individual components, grilling your granola would work just as well at an outdoor or festival campsite as it would at home.