Arcadia's Mobile Market to Launch May 2nd

With spring in full swing, Mo and her team of farmers-in-training have been busy turning over cover crop, preparing beds, and transplanting seedlings at Arcadia Farm. Thanks to their tireless efforts, the countdown has begun for our mobile farmers’ market to hit the streets of Washington, DC!

Beginning Wednesday, May 2nd, the Arcadia Mobile Market will make weekly market stops at partner organizations throughout the District. Please visit our website for more information on the times and locations, or check out our map of scheduled market stops.

The bus has been fully retrofitted to accommodate exterior shelving, as well as interior refrigerators and freezers, preserving our offerings of sustainably produced vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs and meat. The Mobile Market will operate from May through October, making additional stops in Northern Virginia and acting as our market stand at Arcadia Farm, beginning in June.

Cat, Arcadia’s Artist-in-Residence, has nearly completed the Mobile Market’s mural. Expect a blog post later this month highlighting her experience painting the bus with volunteers and the students of Bancroft Elementary.

We’re also excited to have JuJu, Arcadia’s Mobile Market Nutrition and Outreach Coordinator, on board to conduct cooking demonstrations and food access outreach during market stops.

The Mobile Market has been made possible by both individual and corporate support. Arcadia would like to thank everybody who contributed to our Kickstarter campaign last year, as well as Kaiser Permanente, the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, Whole Foods Market, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Clif Bar Family Foundation, and the Leonsis Foundation. Funding for our “Bonus Bucks” incentive program has been generously provided by Wholesome Wave, INOVA Health System, Capital Area Food Bank, and United Medical Center.

The Votes are In: It's Spinach by a Landslide!

March saw the successful debut of DC Farm to School's newest program - Local Food THROWDOWNS. Chef Tom visited 9 schools in March, engaging 1,000 elementary school students in an exciting and interactive taste test of Jammin' Spinach Salad, which paired crisp and nutritious spinach with a super-healthy raspberry balsamic vinaigrette dressing and a handful of tangy-sweet dried cranberries.

After students had a chance to eat their school lunch, Chef Tom handed out individual samples of the spinach salad, and asked them to try it with an open mind, and offer their feedback and thoughts on what they like or don’t like about the sample. Chef Tom also engaged the students in a discussion of why spinach is super healthy, and why eating local foods is important.

Chef Tom heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from the students that they LOVED their spinach salads and wanted to see more spinach on their school menus in the coming months.

The Local Food THROWDOWN program ties in with DC Farm to School's new Farm Fresh Feature effort, which helps schools celebrate a different local, in-season veggie each month. The Farm Fresh Feature for April is Radishes - and our Local Food THROWDOWN recipe will be a colorful and vibrant Rockin' Red Radish Salsa!

(Special thanks to SweetGreen for donating 14 lbs of organic spinach for our March events!)

Donate to the Arcadia Farm Camp scholarship fund

When we at Arcadia decided to start a farm camp, I knew that I didn't just want it to be for kids whose families could afford it. Since Arcadia is all about creating a more equitable and sustainable food system, it makes sense that we should try to give all kids the opportunity to learn about where their food comes from.

That's why we created the Arcadia Farm Camp scholarship fund: make Arcadia Farm Camp accessible to young people from low-income households. Just like biodiversity helps make a healthy farm, I believe our farm camp will be enriched by the contributions of all kids.

We also want to give folks who are able the opportunity to contribute to creating a more equitable food system, starting with kids. If you're someone who believes that all kids can benefit from an experience like Arcadia Farm Camp, consider donating to the scholarship fund by visiting the Arcadia Farm Camp website. Your donation will help pay the fees for a child from a low-income household to attend camp this July. Thanks in advance!

If you'd like to apply for a scholarship for your child (or know someone who might), email me (liz@arcadiafood.org) for an application.

Meet JuJu: Mobile Market Nutrition and Outreach Coordinator

With market season just around the corner, it's time to introduce the newest addition to the Arcadia Team, JuJu Harris. JuJu's job is to lead cooking demonstrations and assist with the food assistance outreach during Mobile Market stops.

JuJu planting potatoes at Arcadia Farm

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What are you most excited about for this position?

I firmly believe that healthy food can be easily and inexpensively prepared. Creating delicious, nutritious meals from few ingredients and on a budget is my specialty. I love doing cooking demos and sharing ways to use what's on hand is a real joy for me. I'm also excited that the Mobile Market will accept EBT, WIC and Senior Checks so that more folks can have access to this service.

What is the coolest project you'll be working on?

How cool is it to take food directly to the people? I love the idea of rolling up with a busload of wonderful produce, ready to share a lovely dish and hopefully see the same clients week after week. The big green bus rocks, and I'm looking forward to riding around spreading the gospel of healthy eating in DC.

What experiences have prepared you for this position?

I've been a gardener for 25 years, and have eaten food for 47 (haha!). In the past I've done cooking demos at the Anacostia Farmer's Market, have been a guest chef at the Washington Youth Garden, and have held Cook Days at my homes and taught my friends how to make new dishes while our kids played outside. I've also been both a WIC and EBT recipient, and honed my budgeting and meal planning skills so that I could continue to produce healthy meals for my family on a limited income. I understand first hand the stress that of having a lower-income, and realize that folks make poor food choices because they either lack knowledge of better alternatives, are fearful of trying something new, have limited financial resources with which to purchase food, or do not have access to healthier groceries.

If you were a vegetable, what would you be?

I'd be a tomato, because I like to live "juicy," that is, I love to soak up the sun and most folks are happy to see me arrive because I give good "flavor" to the scene.

Ok, technically, a tomato is not a vegetable, so if I have to choose a real one, I'd be Kale because I have a "crunchy" vibe. Or maybe a Calabaza squash since orange is my favorite color.

Which season has the best produce, and why?

Summer is definitely my favorite season for produce due to the abundance of tomatoes, squash, luscious fruit, and yum, peaches, the best food in the world.

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We're excited to have such a passionate, committed, and knowledgeable addition to the team!

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!

Arcadia Farm Camp Registration Deadline Extended

We’re extending the registration deadline for Arcadia Farm Camp to April 15 – register your child now for a week of planting, harvesting, chopping, digging, exploring, learning and fun. We're hosting two one-week sessions (July 16-20 and July 23-27) for Arcadia Farm Camp's pilot season. We'll welcome kids ages 6-10 to the farm to learn about where their food comes from.

For more information, check out the Arcadia Farm Camp website. And help us spread the word! Tell your friends, family and other interested folks about Arcadia Farm Camp.
Thanks!

Welcoming the New Growing Season!

It has been a super busy two weeks at Arcadia Farm and I am pleased to say that the first of the spring crops are flourishing! The fields are green with Fava beans, sweet peas, beets, kale, and collards, the new farm interns have are settling in, and I am once again coming home every night covered in dirt. Must be spring!

With the help of Elin, Bonnie, Stephanie, Rachel, and Natalie, our new front field space has been seeded with beets, turnips and potatoes. I am thrilled that we already have sprouts in the new space and I have a good feeling that delicious veggies will flourish!



We've also had the help of Benjamin, our Mobile Market Director preparing the new space in our upper fields. Due to poor drainage, we have to dig a lot of trenches and Ben's spent many days the last week knee deep in the mud with a shovel in hand! It is great to have the whole staff involved in the space that will grow the food to fill the bus!




Now that the season is kicking in to gear, we are going to start regular Saturday and Monday volunteer days on Monday, April 23. Volunteer hours will be from 9am-12pm and you can sign up at volunteer@arcadiafood.org. Also mark your calendars for May 13--the first spring farm dinner at Arcadia Farm!! Featuring Chef Tony Chittum from Vermillion, we will dine on seasonal fare directly from Arcadia and some other farm friends in Virginia.

See you soon!

-Farmer Mo