Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture is pleased to announce that they are the new home of the D.C. Farm to School Network, formerly a program of the Capital Area Food Bank. The transition to Arcadia was a natural fit for the D.C. Farm to School Network as the two organizations share in their commitment to improving the sustainability of Washinton area's food systems. The D.C. Farm to School Network at Arcadia will be fueled by a grant from the Kaiser Permanente Foundation.
At its new organizational home, the Network will continue to grow and expand its programming to get more healthy, locally-grown foods in to Washington, DC school meals. The Network will focus on three main program areas - hands-on farm to school education; tools and resources for school food programs; and community engagement.
Andrea Northup will continue to operate as the Network’s Manager. “Housing the D.C. Farm to School Network at Arcadia affords so much potential for growth and development of the local farm to school movement, within an organization that is poised to lead the broader local food movement,” says Northup.
Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture aims to improve the health of area residents by providing a direct link to area farms. The organization does this by way of a farm for both sustainable production and consumer education; a mobile market that brings local fresh food into low-income neighborhoods and a center that operates as a local food distribution “hub”.
“When Arcadia was founded, an integral part of our mission was to create a collaborative space that would act as a rallying point for those working to better our food systems and we could not ask for a better organization than the D.C. Farm to School Network to take the lead,” says Michael Babin, Founder of Arcadia & Owner of Neighborhood Restaurant Group.
The D.C. Farm to School Network began as a program of the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest non-profit anti-hunger resource in the D.C. metropolitan area, in the Harvest for Health department. The food bank fostered the Network’s early stages of growth and program development. Since its inception in 2008, the Network has grown to over 1,000 stakeholders and has accomplished a number of program objectives including web presence, regular events, workshops, tools & resources, and advocacy wins.
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Media contact:Andrea Northup
D.C. Farm to School Network Manager
Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture
andrea@dcfarmtoschool.org
(203) 558-8549
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