Planning Your Garden Workshop coming up!

Grey February days always get me a little down.  It's hard to get myself moving and motivated to go outside to face a world that's bitter cold and dreary.  It's times like this that I turn to the prospect of spring to keep me going, and there's only one place that it's perpetually spring: inside the pages of the seed catalogs that flood my mailbox every winter. 

Of course, I want to grow everything in my garden, but even my giddy, excited winter self knows that that's not practical for the space that I have and the time that I have to devote to it.  So, I take the time to plan things out methodically and practically to ensure that I'll have a productive and manageable space.

I'm incredibly excited to be teaching the Planning Your Garden workshop in just a few short weeks.  I'll be talking about everything that you need to know to get started in gardening, whether this is your first year or you've been at it for a few years and want to take your growing to the next level.  We'll discuss everything from picking and preparing the right sight to choosing the right crops to grow in your space and how to maximize your space to some of the the challenges and pitfall you might come across and strategies for dealing with them.  Make sure to bring any and all questions so that we can help troubleshoot them!

Register now to reserve your spot!

Calling all early birds: Register now for Arcadia Farm Camp

Warmer months may seem far away, but we're already excited about a summer full of food, farming and fun: Registration for the 2013 season of Arcadia Farm Camp opens today! This year, we're even offering an Early Bird discount to campers who complete registration on or before March 15, so sign up now!

We're already busy planning a jam-packed schedule full of hands-on activities. There's tried and true activities, like building bug houses and making squish squash pasta, plus new ideas to try, like a food miles relay race and solar oven cooking. (101 Gardening Projects for Kids is one of our favorite resources for fun kids stuff.) We'll be working with our new Farm Director Stephen to find the right projects for young farmers and we're definitely recruiting chefs for some tasty seasonal cooking demos - email liz@arcadiafood.org if you know a chef who wants to stop by!

Plus, we're already accepting donations to the Arcadia Farm Camp Scholarship Fund. If you think it's important for all kids to have the opportunity to discover where their food comes from, head over to our scholarship fund page to learn more.

Looking for a few fantastic interns

At Arcadia, our interns are essential. We love the energy and talents they bring to the farm, and they're involved in all aspects of our small operation. Interns gain important skills and knowledge that help prepare them for careers in sustainable agriculture, outdoor education, nutrition, nonprofit management, and more.

This spring, we're offering two different internship positions. Farm Interns will focus on our small-scale sustainable farming operation, while Farm Education Interns become an integral part of our farm field trip program. Follow the links to learn more.

Deadline for applications is February 1st. Help us spread the word!

Welcome Stephen, new Arcadia Farm Director

Stephen Corrigan is Arcadia's new Farm Director! We're really glad to welcome him to the team. While there will surely be plenty of opportunities to meet him in person, read on to meet him virtually.

What experiences have prepared you for this position?
I’ve been growing and raising food for the better part of a decade now, working in a commercial setting for about 6 years, and as an educator for the last 4 years. Throughout that time, I’ve learned that in order to connect people with their food, we have to get them out there doing the work, seeing where their food is grown, and meeting the people who raise it. Once that curtain is lifted, it’s very difficult to see food as something that doesn’t matter. I’ve had the great fortune to have had thousands of these interactions with CSA members, chefs, students, fellow farmers, and random passers-by, and the experience of sharing what I’m doing and why I’m doing it, as well as delicious recipes, gardening advice, and, of course, beautiful, tasty food, has been an incredibly rewarding experience.

What is most exciting to you about your new job as Farm Director at Arcadia?
I feel fortunate to be joining a relatively new organization filled with bright, passionate, and motivated individuals and an inspiring line-up of programs. I’m also looking forward to being part of the future growth of this farm, which I hope can develop into a showpiece for the region.

I’m incredibly excited to be jumping into a new region, where the local food scene seems to have so much interest and steam building behind it. Having spent most of my time growing in New England, I’ve seen the passion that many have for local and sustainable food begin to taper off, which has made it difficult to be innovative or creative. While these are just first impressions, the market here seems to be clamoring for new products, ideas, and, overall, simply more farms and farmers to supply it.

I’m also eager to be a part of this historic piece of property and its rich agricultural and culinary traditions. I’m looking forward to scouring through the historical documents that are available to find out more about with kind of things have been raised here over time.

What challenges do you anticipate you'll face as the Farm Director?
Moving to a new piece of land is never an easy task, and I anticipate that it will take me a little while to figure out exactly what this piece of land can do and how best to improve it for the future. I’m fortunate to have Mo’s guiding hand a bit to hear more about what’s been done and what is possible for the future.

Getting to know the rhythms of a new region is also going to be a bit difficult and yet present me with a wealth of new opportunities. Farmers can easily fall into a rut of the same schedules (planting, harvesting, pests, etc.), but being here will allow me to work with crops and varieties that I’ve never had a chance to grow and a longer overall season, which will be a welcome challenge as I’m doing my planning and continue into next season.

What are some of your goals for the 2013 growing season?
I’m still working out which of these goals are feasible and which are harebrained, so perhaps I’ll keep my goals here on the modest side. I’d like to keep up the aggressive improvement of the soil quality through active management, cover cropping, and amending. As part of that, I’d like to really nail down a good larger scale composting system. We’ve got an excellent supply of raw materials (manure, food scraps, etc.) around, and I’d like to be making use of that much better. I’d also like to begin growing more beneficial plants on the farm not only for soil and plant nutrition, such as nettles, equisetum, and comfrey, but also for beneficial insects and bee forage.

As a model of what I want this farm to become, I want to be meticulous in the farm’s succession planting to ensure a consistent supply of what we grow and always having top-quality produce.

If you were a vegetable, what would you be?
No question, garlic. It’s humble, definitely not the flashiest vegetable out there, but it’s indispensible to almost any method of cooking , incredibly versatile and got a spice that you won’t soon forget. I also like how it can provide a crop in several different ways, from scapes to green garlic to full-sized mature heads, providing different flavors for you throughout the season.

Field trip registration opens Monday!

We're opening registration for 2013 field trips to Arcadia Farm on Monday, December 3.

Here are some reasons our field trip program is awesome:

• We encourage kids to try new healthy fruits and vegetables by showing them where food comes from.
  
• The Groundhog Garden, our kid's educational space, is a fantastic classroom where kids can interact with each other and with nature in a positive way.
  
• We help reinforce classroom learning by providing hands-on lessons where students can experience the concepts they've learned in school. For example, check out the photo above: instead of just learning about decomposition in a book, kids can dig in the compost and even touch worms!
  

We've gotten some great feedback from teachers, like the comment below.

I thought the trip was very well organized and the volunteers were really great with the students. All the topics were interesting, age-appropriate and relevant to what we were studying at the time. I loved that the students got the opportunity to get hands on with their learning and their favorite part was tasting all the different things from the garden. - DCPS third grade teacher, fall 2012

Our program is designed for pre-K through 5th grade groups of up to 60 students. In 2013, Arcadia Farm field trips will take place on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays starting March 20. Learn more by visiting the field trip page on our website or you can download an overview of the program here for Virginia schools and here for DC schools.

We hope to see you out at the farm soon!

We're growing! Preparing new fields for 2013

The growing season is winding down and the Mobile Market is in the shop for repairs, so Mobile Market Director Ben has a new project: procuring leaves. LOTS and LOTS of leaves.

Why all the leaves? We're expanding Arcadia Farm! In 2010, we cultivated our first 1.5 acres. In 2013, we're hoping to put about two more acres under cultivation to grow more healthy local food for the community. We're using the leaves as a mulch, which will decompose over the winter and improve the health of our soil. We're also adding horse manure from a local stable as an organic fertilizer.

Those two acres (also known as the lower field) are visible as you drive south on Route 1 from Alexandria. With help from our friends at Mt. Vernon, we tilled the land for the first time in the spring of this year. Then, we planted oats as a cover crop to suppress weeds and we grew a few vegetable crops, including potatoes, kale and radishes.

We're also winterizing our original 1.5 acres using cover crops like winter wheat and red clover, and lots of leaf mulch. Plus, we're still harvesting carrots, spinach, kale and more from those fields.

With the help of those leaves, some decomposers and a new Farm Director (stay tuned for a post about Stephen next week), we're looking forward to making the lower field a beautiful, productive space in 2013.

A new crop of farm education interns!

We're welcoming a new crop of fall interns to the farm - and what inspiring bunch they are! Over the next couple of months, Teiji, Amanda, Morgan, Marta and Lacey will spend one day per week on the farm doing field work and one day per week working with young folks who come to the farm for our field trip program.

Read on to virtually meet each of them! Interestingly, if our interns were vegetables, we'd have two carrots and two potatoes, plus a pumpkin - all fall veggies!

Meet Teiji Epling...

What experiences have prepared you for this position?
I am currently working at a small library, so I have the opportunity to interact with children from the area and understand what they are thinking. Probably because of my involvement with the library, I do a lot of reading, lately mostly focused toward issues in local/sustainable food systems. I also volunteer at my local food bank in the community garden, where we grow produce to help out those who are hungry around the area. Since learning more about food issues, I've started my own garden and even have my own small chicken flock!

What are you hoping to learn as a Farm Education Intern at Arcadia?
As a farm education intern, one of my main goals is to learn effective ways in which to get youngsters interested in where their food comes from. I'd also like to continue my own learning about food issues and continue to gather resources on ways to get involved with local and sustainable food efforts. As an organic gardener, I'm excited about learning hands-on techniques for keeping plants healthy and productive.

If you were a vegetable, what would you be?
If I were a vegetable, I would be a potato. They're not particularly flashy, but pack a calorically efficient punch while always finding ways to grow regardless of the soil.

Meet Amanda Green....

What experiences have prepared you for this position?
The majority of my farming experiences until this year have been in international agriculture, so I have a lot to learn about sustainable farming in Virginia! Since
this spring I've been working as a volunteer both at Arcadia and at the Washington Youth Garden at the National Arboretum in DC, and I also have an educational background in sustainable ag.

What are you hoping to learn as a Farm Education Intern at Arcadia?
I am hoping to learn the ins and outs of small-scale, organic farming in Virginia and also the organizational and project design behind Arcadia. I'm also excited about guiding field trips at Arcadia and learning what makes children enthusiastic about eating fresh vegetables. And I'd like to get to know the chickens a little better!

If you were a vegetable, what would you be? Definitely a carrot. I would be sweet enough for desserts, good for juicing, and I'd have a good chance of being present at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Plus I'd have a totally wild head of hair!

Meet Morgan Maloney...

What experiences have prepared you for this position?
My experience with teaching youth volunteers construction techniques and low income housing issues has prepared me for the Elementary school Field Trip aspect of this position. I loved empowering high school students to use their hands, and a few power tools, to transform their communities. Hands-on education skills and a passion for healthy foods will allow me to teach these budding minds about the wonders of vegetables!

What are you hoping to learn as a Farm Education Intern at Arcadia?
I hope to gain a better understanding of the farm system and the role that it currently (and could later) play in the food system. Taking part in the care of the produce and learning from farmers like Mo and Liz can only lead to amazing things.

If you were a vegetable, what would you be? A carrot. I love the way carrots are dirty and strange on the outside but exquisitely crisp just beyond that outer layer. Plus, I’m a red head; obvious correlation there.

Meet Marta Spangler...

What experiences have prepared you for this position?
In addition to keeping my own community garden plot for a couple years in Pittsburgh, I have worked for several years for my neighbor’s fruit farm, located in Ortanna, PA.

What are you hoping to learn as a Farm Education Intern at Arcadia?
I’m interested in learning more about the interpretive and educational piece. I’m especially interested in seeing an example of how can we make growing more accessible to the larger community and to see how to empower people with knowledge about their food and food sources.

If you were a vegetable, what would you be?
I’m pretty sure I’d be a potato! So versatile, and so tasty, or perhaps I’d be a carrot, also delicious. I think I must be craving root veggies as it gets closer to fall, but I just love the simplicity and heartiness of good potatoes and carrots, and they can be fun to harvest, because it feels like you are digging for buried treasure.

Meet Lacey Walker...

What experiences have prepared you for this position?
I've never worked on a farm before so I'm coming at this position with an eagerly open mind. I grew up around dairy farms, small flower gardens and more recently I have gotten involved in work with animal sanctuaries.This environment, digging in the dirt and really transforming seeds into edible produce, is rather new to me. So let me speak to what sparked my interest in this position. I spent a year teaching English in France. It's impossible not to fall absolutely in love with produce in France. The open air markets, the stacks of carrots, the fresh soups, salads and quiches packed with vegetables - it's heaven! Food in France is not just an obsession for the tourists though, the children in France seemed to be much more in touch with their food systems and food options than I had been during my childhood in the US. My time there was really spent in an equal exchange of knowledge and when I got back I was eager to continue my love affair with fresh, local produce but I also wanted to find a way to include the youth in my area. Enter Arcadia.

What are you hoping to learn as a Farm Education Intern at Arcadia?
I want to learn what it means, first hand, to have a healthy farm. I am hoping to experience and really appreciate the work that goes into producing our food and understand the special thought that goes into a sustainable, organic farm. And hopefully I'll pick up some edible weed identification skills while I'm at it!

If you were a vegetable, what would you be?
If I were a vegetable I would be a pumpkin. As a kid my aunt called me Pumpkin Head and it is something that has stuck with me. I love fall weather, pumpkin pie for breakfast and toasted seeds as a snack. I like how pumpkin picking brings friends and families together. In fact, my father met my step-mother when we were at the pumpkin patch for a field trip when I was a kid!

Help out with our fall field trip program!

Have you been looking for a way to get involved with Arcadia? Have a flexible schedule? Like working with kids? Then read on...

We're looking for Volunteer Farm Field Trip Assistants to help make field trips to Arcadia Farm safe, educational and fun. Field Trip Assistants will,provide instruction and supervision, help monitor the space, and assist with general garden maintenance.

Here's what some former Volunteer Farm Field Trip Assistants had to say about their experiences:

"I enjoyed learning and teaching about sustainable farming just as much as the children did. It was so nice to meet and work with the team of women on the farm and the children were delightful. Tasting the honey straight from the hive was a thrill as was picking up the chicken and her fresh eggs." - Volunteer Field Trip Assistant, Spring 2012

"Watching kids see a carrot pulled from the ground for the first time is something special. Their eyes light up and and you can almost witness the synapses in their brain fire. Before your very eyes, their schema for a carrot has changed. That's pretty awesome." - Field Trip Assistant, Spring 2012

We’re looking for volunteers who can commit to one Wednesday or Thursday from 9:30am to 2:30 per week for the duration of the Arcadia Farm field trip program, which runs from September 5 to October 31. For more information, read the full description here.

To apply, email Liz (liz@arcadiafood.org) with your resume and a note describing your interest.

Farms + Food + Fun = Arcadia Farm Camp

We're halfway through the very first week of Arcadia Farm Camp - and what a week it's been! From water games to chef demos, we've been busy beating the heat, exploring the farm, and having fun.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Chefs Ed, Christina and Shannon from DC Central Kitchen stopped by to show us how to make huge delicious meal with seasonal fruits and veggies: okra and tomatoes, chicken florentine, coleslaw, and crepes.
  
• We had a visit from Farmer Ben and Arcadia's own Mobile Market on Tuesday, which included a tour of the bus (so many fridges!). He also enlisted our help in harvesting herbs and Swiss chard.
  
• Elizabeth from Chipotle did an awesome fresh salsa demonstration today - and brought us free burritos! (Extra special thanks go out to Chipotle for donating eight scholarships to farm camp for kids from low-income families).
  

More shout-outs go to staff members Rachel, Carling, Matt, Natalie, Sophie and Kat for keeping everyone safe, happy, and healthy. Check out the photos below and stay tuned to our blog for more updates! Created with flickr slideshow.

In search of great interns

Our farm wouldn't grow without interns. Period. Neither would our farm education programs. They're so crucial!

We've had an excellent spring crew (shout outs to Rachel, Elin, Steph, Bonnie and Natalie!), but since they're moving on, we're looking to find some new folks.

Check out the description below and share it with anyone who might be interested!


Farm Education Internship Description - Fall 2012

We’re looking for Farm Interns to assist with all facets of our sustainable farm and our educational programming, with a focus on fall field trips and basic farm work. Our 2-acre demonstration farm follows environmentally-sound growing practices. Starting in September, we’ll host educational farm visits for elementary school students from Washington, D.C. and Virginia.

Responsibilities
Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

help maintain our sustainable farm (weeding, watering, planting, harvesting, etc.)
assist with weekly volunteers on the farm
teach hand-on lessons to small groups of students during field trips, and
assist with farm tours for people of all ages.
Interns will report directly to the Farm Director and the Education Manager.
Interns will also work closely with the Mobile Market Director and other interns.

Qualifications
Commitment and reliability
Exemplary communication and organizational skills
Experience working with youth, especially in an outdoor environment
General knowledge and interest in sustainable agriculture and/or nutrition education
Creativity, enthusiasm and a sense of humor
Must be able to work outdoors in various weather conditions and lift 50 lbs
Leadership experience helpful, but not required
First Aid/CPR certification is a plus.

Time Commitment
We’re looking for interns who can commit to two days per week from August 20 to November 9.

Compensation
This is a voluntary position. School internship credit can be arranged for a minimum commitment of 10 hours per week (2 days/week).

Contact Information
Please send your resume plus a note describing your interest and relevant experience with Farm Intern in the subject line to Farm Director Maureen Moodie at info@arcadiafood.org by July 30, 2012.

Goodbye Spring... Hello Summer!

May Arcadia Peas ripe for harvest! 

Today is the Summer Solstice, a time for both joyful celebration for the abundance on the farm right now, and quiet reflection upon the previous months' toil.  It is quite hard to believe that only a few short months ago, we were training pea shoots through the trellis, weeding and mulching and feeding and watering them, waiting for the first sign of a pea pod.  And even just a few short weeks ago, we harvested the last of the pea crop and folded over the vines to feed the soil for next year.

Ripe Sun Golds:
Your first taste of Summer

It's not so hard to say goodbye though to the spring crops when so many others are bursting off the plants.  This week, we harvested beets, green beans, and three types of kales (curly, lacinato, and red russian).  Since summer starts this week, it was so appropriate to also find some ripe cucumber, squash, and tomatoes!  What a treat to have your first taste of summer right off the vine of a Sun Gold tomato plant!  While the beets, green beans and kale make their way onto Arcadia's Mobile Market (see schedule here), it might be a week or so for the tomatoes.  Though the season is a few weeks ahead, the tomatoes are still a bit green (fried green tomatoes, anyone?)... but, be patient, they will soon be ready!  We added more mulch to the tomatoes and continue to tie up them up as they grow keeping them up off the ground.  This week's hot dry DC weather will be a little rough, but the mulching will help retain moisture and keep those plants growing.

Happy Solstice to everyone and I hope you are celebrating the bounty of the season with a nice salad and something really cold to drink.  Perhaps, you'll be lucky enough to find a Sun Gold today!  Many thanks to Farmer Mo for saving one for me!

Gearing Up for Field Trips at Arcadia Farm

Enthusiasm, passion, patience: these are a few of the qualities that make a great teacher, according to the staff, interns, and volunteers at our field trip training this past Saturday. As we discussed the basics of farm-based education, we also talked about how we as educators can embody those qualities and make each trip empowering for students.

In just a few short weeks, Arcadia Farm will start hosting spring field trips for kids from DC and the metro area. The goal of the training was to make sure our fantastic volunteers, interns and staff are prepared to make those trips great. Although the rain kept us indoors for most of the day, we spent time role playing activities about soil, plants, bees, chickens and harvesting so that everyone had practice teaching our spring lessons.

Amy Best, Associate Professor of Sociology at George Mason University, joined us for the training to discuss observation-based research. She has been helping us develop a comprehensive system for evaluating our programs and she'll be observing field trips to help us measure our success and improve our programs.

Sophia from Brickyard Farm, where they're starting a field trip program, also stopped by to hear about what we're doing. So did Jamie from Sweetgreen, who made a special guest chef appearance at one of our fall field trips.

Thanks to everyone who came! And special thanks to our friends at Chipotle for providing lunch for our hungry staff and volunteers.

We're enthusiastic, passionate, patient and just about ready to welcome a crop of future growers to our farm! See you in a few weeks!

2012 Farm Interns!

Meet Elin! I grew up in Bethesda, MD, but have spent the last few years in the Pacific Northwest, at the University of Puget Sound.  As a kid, I spent a lot of time outdoors, going on hikes, exploring the shores of Lake Superior, and following my nature-loving big brother around.  I believe our food system is inherently backwards: processed meats and fast food should not be easier to find or more affordable than nutrient rich (and delicious!) fruits and vegetables.  (One of my favorites is asparagus.) This spring, I am excited to be working on the farm with Mo and helping out with the chickens and bees! 

Stephanie Buglione is the Farm/Farm Educator intern. She is a senior at American University, majoring in Environmental Studies. Stephanie grew up in Upstate New York, surrounded by lush forests and rolling hills, NOT. She actually grew up in the suburbs, which has fueled her interest in environmental stewardship and, more recently, sustainable agriculture. Stephanie looks forward to learning more about soil, cultivating veggies, and working with the chickens and bees. By far, her favorite vegetable is the eggplant. When she’s not on the farm, she’s probably singing a tune while making some crafts!

Bonnie Sigwalt is a Marlboro College MBA Candidate in her second year of the Managing for Sustainability program in Brattleboro, Vermont.  She is from Chicago, studied Government at Smith College, and currently lives and gardens in southern Maryland where she is passionate about local food networks and the creation of resilient communities through entrepreneurship and sustainable agriculture.  Bonnie first learned about the benefits of sustainable farming practices while working on the Brüder Dr. Becker organic vineyard

  

in Germany, and she has, ever since, been hearing the land call her back.  She is finally listening.  Her final MBA project will focus on funding mechanisms that will provide entrepreneurs the ability to launch sustainable food-related enterprises. Her favorite vegetable is kale and wishes you would eat more of it. @organicDC

Rachel Hendrickson is the Farm Educator intern at Arcadia. Rachel grew up outside of Philadelphia in New Jersey (the garden state!) and is a senior at American University due to graduate in May. She studies environmental science at AU with a special focus in environmental education. Her love of garden based learning stems from summers spent out in the vegetable garden with her mom Nancy. When Rachel isn’t helping to plan fun field trip activities for this spring, she likes to run and play the ukulele. Her favorite vegetable is currently kale.

I can already tell it's going to be a great year! I can't tell you how excited I am to have such an amazing and passionate team of women working with me this spring and summer!

-Farmer Mo

Save the Date for Arcadia Farm Camp!

We're glad to announce the dates of Arcadia Farm Camp's pilot sessions! Over the past few weeks, we've been moving forward with planning a truly awesome summer camp program. We had help from some fantastic parents at our focus groups in January, and we'll use their feedback as we develop camp policies and procedures.

We're hosting two one-week sessions: July 16-20, 2012 and July 23-27, 2012. We're planning to open registration in late February or early March. For more details, head over to our website. If you still have questions, don't hesitate to email liz@arcadiafood.org for more information. You can also sign up for future summer camp updates here.

We're excited to welcome your child to Arcadia Farm Camp this summer.

What I learned at the Food Project's Winter Institute

I was lucky enough to spend two days last week at the Food Project's Winter Institute with a group of insightful, inspiring food activists from around the country. The Institute showcases the Food Project's work empowering teens to make change through sustainable agriculture.

Since Arcadia is a young organization, I'm grateful I had the opportunity to learn from folks who've been working for food justice for 20 years. I learned a whole lot, but here are some of the most memorable parts:

• Bridging divides has amazing transformative power. The Food Project brings youth of totally different backgrounds together to work on farms in both urban and rural areas. Arcadia's work connecting small farmers with city dwellers and young people to the source of their food has similar potential.
  
• From Eron at Collective Roots in East Palo Alto, CA to Ryan and Kayla at Farm Fresh Rhode Island, the Institute brought together a group of really down-to-earth folks working on similar issues. Although it seemed that we're all often overwhelmed with the injustice we see around us, we are each really passionate about working with young people to help create a more sustainable and fair food system.
  
• The Food Project teens are awesome! I was so impressed by their knowledge of the food system, their emotional intelligence and their communication skills. A solid portion of the 2.5 day institute was actually led by the teens themselves, including a stellar set of workshops about food systems.
  
• Fun is super important! At the Institute, we learned some of the great games that the Food Project staff uses with their youth teams and I can't wait to play some of them out at Arcadia Farm this year.
  

If you haven't already, make your way over to the Food Project's toolbox - it's chock full of (free!) useful materials for folks who are working on sustainable agriculture issues and youth empowerment.

2012, Here We Come!

Arcadia’s gearing up for 2012! We have ambitious goals - here’s what our staff are most excited about for in the upcoming year:

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.

Support our friends @ 'An Evening of Carnivory'

Looking to celebrate the New Year with meat? Our friend, Andrew, at Farmrun, is screening his new documentary, 'On the Anatomy of Thrift' at Big Bear Cafe on January 1. Movie to be followed by a delicious meal by Clementina Russo, (chef extraordinaire and supporter of Arcadia!!)

Check out the Big Bear website for more information and hope to meat you there.

Farmer Liz is BACK!

Liz Whitehurst was Arcadia's fabulous part-time Farm Educator this past fall.  She spearheaded the design of Groundhog Garden (the space at Arcadia Farm that kids explore during field trips) and the development and implementation of our fall field trip program.

We're happy to say that Liz is back, this time in full force!  She'll be with us full time as Arcadia's Farm Education Coordinator.  Her main projects will be leading spring and fall field trips, developing summer camp program, and starting up a series of Family Fun Days on the farm.  Welcome back Liz!

Screening of 'American Meat' and panel discussion with Farmer Mo

What: The new documentary American Meat chronicles America’s grassroots revolution in sustainable meat production. The film, an official selection of Food Day 2011, explains our current industrial meat system, and shows the feedlots and confinement operations, not through hidden cameras but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. The film then shifts to the burgeoning sustainable, local-food movement made up farmers, food advocates, chefs and everyday folks who could change everything about the way meat reaches the American table.

Who: After the film, at 8:30 p.m., a panel discussion will be held with New York City filmmaker Graham Meriwether and Susan Prolman, executive director of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), and an advocate for sustainable agriculture for more than a decade; Phil Petrilli, Regional Manager, Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants, who helped set up the company’s purchase and distribution of grass-fed pork for its restaurants; Maureen Moodie, farm director of the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture, Fairfax County, Va.

Where: E Street Theater, 555 11th St. NW, Washington, D.C. (E Street entrance between 10th and 11th Streets NW)

When: 7 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 1. 8:30 p.m. panel discussion.

Cost: Free seating and free coupons for burritos, sponsored by the Chipotle Company.

Why: Sustainable farming is expanding exponentially as Americans learn more and more about their food and how they can connect with local farmers who raise their animals outdoors. Here is a film that celebrates these farmers, and all farmers, in an unbiased way that allows all farmers and food advocates to sit down and discuss solutions to their common challenges. Perhaps most importantly, the film provokes a spirited but constructive conversation about one of the most important subjects in our lives -- our food.

For further information on community screenings, please visit AmericanMeatFilm.com.

Groundhog Garden Shed

Groundhog Garden has a new exciting development-- we've (almost) finished our shed! The whole Farm to School and Arcadia Farm team are thrilled about out new projects!

The kids shed will serve as an outdoor educational classroom as well as provide a safe and dry space to store all of our equipment and supplies for farm field trips. With the amazing design provided by Jesse, a group of volunteers dedicated their Sunday to its construction. A huge thanks to Emily Roberts, Jim Villars, Katie from Beet Street, Jeff Wilkes, and Luis from jWest Solutions (and of course, Adam and Ben) for your building expertise!

We've also sheet mulched more space in Groundhog Garden to make room for spring's new gardens-- more herbs, natural dye beds and fruit trees are on the way! We're already excited to use and explore our expanded Groundhog Garden with school groups in the spring!