First Market Days a Success!

It’s nearly impossible to miss a huge green bus, decorated with colorful illustrations of vegetables. Nor can you miss the bins of fresh produce — Pink Lady apples, radishes, herbs, and heirloom lettuces — that are artfully displayed in crates along the side of the bus. 

Drawn to this event, eager shoppers press close to scoop up bags of favorites, such as kale, collards and chard. Others inquire about the taste and uses for unknown greens, like mizuna and tat soi.

Buy Fresh, Buy Local, Buy Northern Virginian!

During its first weeks of operation, the Mobile Market has carried both seasonal and storage items, such as early season greens, baby root vegetables, and late season apples, as well as locally-sourced and sustainably-produced milk, eggs, and frozen meat. 

The bus has attracted a wide range of market participants, and in only two weeks we’ve already had several repeat customers!  We appreciate our regulars, as they’ve helped to spread the word about the market to their neighbors and colleagues.  Among them are:

Ms. E. Perot, who purchased three bags of shiitake mushrooms and asked Benjamin to sauté a batch for her as he was doing a cooking demonstration, so that she could share them with her co-workers;  
  
Amber, a UMC employee who visited the market fives times, drawn to the sweetness of the apples;

and Miss Mary, who returned “searching for more of that delicious arugula,” and who took several flyers to promote the market in her senior apartment building.

Amber, the Apple Lover!

My favorite stop thus far is at The Overlook, where we are able to provide the residents with a $10 voucher for produce, thanks to a generous grant from the Capital Area Food Bank.  A lot of good natured bantering went on between the seniors as they queued to purchase “country brown eggs and bottled milk” like they’d eaten “back home.” 

It’s a great pleasure to be working to bring beautiful, healthy food to D.C. residents in low-income, low-food access neighborhoods, and to educate folks on the benefits of local, in-season produce.  We still get asked “when’re ya’ll gonna have corn and tomatoes?”  Soon, dear friends, soon!