After a stellar first season, our Farm Director Mo Moodie, is excited to expand Arcadia Farm at Woodlawn to an additional 2 acres (“the Lower Field”) this growing season. Our Mobile Market needs fresh fruits and veggies to sell in and around DC, so she’s gonna grow ‘em. We’re also welcoming some living, breathing new members of our farm family: chickens & ducks!
Benjamin Bartley, our Mobile Market Director, is excited to get Arcadia’s farmers’ market bus on the road this season! He’s establishing a “Double Dollars” program that will match fresh produce purchases dollar-for-dollar from low-income folks using WIC, SNAP, and the Senior Farmers’ Market Promotion Program – up to $15,000! He also aims to engage thousands of students, parents and families when the Mobile Market makes educational stops at schools. Keep your eyes peeled for a produce-filled school bus soon!
Andrea Northup, D.C. Farm to School Network Director, is rolling out a number of food, nutrition and farm education programs this year. She’s most excited for a Farm to School Workshop for school food service providers later this winter, and the launch of our Farm-Fresh Feature program. The Farm-Fresh Feature will include a suite of educational materials and programs for schools to help them celebrate a different sustainable, local fruit or veggie each month. Stickers, handouts, banners, taste-tests and more will get kids jazzed about the local options in their school meals!
Liz Whitehurst, our Farm Education Coordinator, aims to build off of a successful season of school field trips to Groundhog Garden, our youth space at Arcadia Farm. Her main goals are to make field trips accessible to all schools, regardless of their ability to pay for a bus to transport students. Liz also plans to grow at least 50% of food for education programs at Groundhog Garden. Whole Foods generously donated hundreds of pounds of produce for field trip programming last year, but Liz’s planned expansion of Groundhog Garden will allow us to stock our salad bar with produce grown just a few feet away.
Wow, we’ve got a lot in store for the upcoming months! Help us reach our goals by donating to Arcadia (email info@arcadiafood.org to learn how) and stay in touch – follow us on twitter, find us on facebook, and be sure to get on our email list.
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