5/23/12
Field trip update: Five spring highlights
1. Since we've got an awesome team of dedicated staff and volunteers, we're able to facilitate hands-on learning in small groups about soil, plants, pollination, nutrition, and more. Although we're hosting larger groups this spring, we're still providing individualized attention and a welcoming atmosphere.
Many thanks go out to our stellar group of staff and volunteers for all their hard work!
2. When we first started the field trip program last fall, many teachers from DC schools told us they'd like to come, but that buses were simply too expensive for the trip. So this spring, we offered eight transportation scholarships that allowed qualifying schools (schools with 75% or more students who receive Free and Reduced Meals) to join us for a day on the farm. We're really excited to be able to make the experience accessible to as many students as possible.
3. Now that our beets are getting ready to harvest, most of the food that our visitors eat from the salad bar is fresh from the farm! We've already been eating plenty of greens and radishes and we've got sugar snap peas and carrots on the way!
5. The only thing better than a great field trip is the chance to remember it through great photos. Thanks to Arcadia super volunteer Kathy Brown for donating her time and skills to capture our farm field trips!
5/22/12
Photos: Arcadia Farm Dinner
A huge thanks to Amanda for attending our first farm dinner and for posting these great pictures of the event! We look forward to many more!
Photos: Arcadia Farm Dinner
Photos: Arcadia Farm Dinner
5/17/12
First Market Days a Success!
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.
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| 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;
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| Amber, the Apple Lover! |
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!
5/10/12
The Mobile Market is ready to roll!
After
several months of sanding, priming, painting, and sealing, Arcadia's Mobile Market has finally gotten a proper makeover!
Having painted many surfaces in my life, a 28-foot school bus was definitely a first. Needless to say, this process has been a learning experience. For instance, I now know that acrylic primer dries very fast when applied to metal in 85-degree, sunny weather!
I also learned the importance of volunteers. A million "Thank Yous" to both new and longstanding friends who sacrificed their precious weekend time to come out and help paint. You all rock!
Painting
the Mobile Market was a lengthy project, and I definitely would have talked to
myself to pass the time far more frequently if it wasn’t for Benjamin, the Mobile Market
Director, who would volunteer to do the laborious tasks “no one else wants.” Thanks, Ben!
I would also like to thank McCormick Paints for lots of helpful advice and supplying our materials at a discounted price!
Check out the Mobile Market’s weekly schedule and route, and read our blog post to learn more about its programming and services!
Having painted many surfaces in my life, a 28-foot school bus was definitely a first. Needless to say, this process has been a learning experience. For instance, I now know that acrylic primer dries very fast when applied to metal in 85-degree, sunny weather!
I also learned the importance of volunteers. A million "Thank Yous" to both new and longstanding friends who sacrificed their precious weekend time to come out and help paint. You all rock!
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| The early stages of painting: Priming and Designing |
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| The finished mural on the driver's side |
I would also like to thank McCormick Paints for lots of helpful advice and supplying our materials at a discounted price!
All told, I am pleased with the final product, particularly since this project will be used to excite kids about eating veggies!
To that end, the Mobile Market launched its weekly, educational school visits this Tuesday, to much success!
To that end, the Mobile Market launched its weekly, educational school visits this Tuesday, to much success!
Check out the Mobile Market’s weekly schedule and route, and read our blog post to learn more about its programming and services!
5/9/12
Field trip update: Eight great quotes from our spring season so far
After hosting groups from the Lab School, EW Stokes School, Whittier Elementary, and Thomson Elementary over the past few weeks, we thought we'd share some with you:
- “That’s what my dad says. We should have more dirt in our diet.”
- We asked for kids to suggest names for our new chickens, and some of the suggestions included: “Yo beautiful!” “Max!” “Blacksmith!” “John!”
- “When worms do their business, it makes the plants happy.”
- “Can we pick a ladybug and keep it?”
- After tasting a freshly-harvested spinach leaf, one student remarks: “It tastes so much greener.”
- “I want to be a farmer. It’s fun.”
- We're talking about trap crops, one of the natural pest control methods we use on the farm and one response is “People are hearing and they’re gonna tell the caterpillars.”
- “I never want to leave here."
Thanks to our friend Professor Amy Best from George Mason University, who recorded these gems during her field trip observations.
5/7/12
Join us for Family Fun Day!
Have you been meaning to check out Arcadia Farm with your family? Arcadians are quite excited to welcome kids to the farm, so ditch your urban plans on Saturday, June 16th in exchange for some good ol' fashion fun! Come to our:
Family Fun Day!
Family Fun Day!
Saturday, June 16th
1pm-5pm
at Arcadia Farm, part of the Woodlawn Estate
9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA
- Learn to make healthy farm-fresh snacks
- Meet our chickens!
- Play farm-based games with your family
- Purchase produce from Arcadia's Mobile Market
- Facepainting, arts and crafts, and more!
Just $5 per person (Children 2 & under are free)
Register your family here!
The rain date is Sunday, June 17th.
Register your family here!
The rain date is Sunday, June 17th.
5/2/12
Rockin' Red Radish Salsa a Hit at Schools
Our second month of DC Farm to School Local Food THROWDOWNS saw Chef Tom introducing students to something a majority had never tried - Radishes. The radishes really got a chance to shine as a healthy part of a dish kids are universally familiar with: chips and salsa. Chef Tom's Rockin' Red Radish Salsa gave kids a citrusy, fresh, not-too-spicy introduction to radishes that had them calling for more!
After students had eaten their school lunch, individual samples of the radish salsa were passed out and students were encouraged to try it and offer their feedback and thoughts on what they like or don’t like about the sample. Although some students were reluctant at first, Chef Tom heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from the students that they LOVED the salsa!
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 May is Strawberries - and our Local Food THROWDOWN recipe is a super-tasty Strawberry Gazpacho soup!
ROCKIN' RED RADISH SALSA:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups chopped or grated red radishes (about 1 pound)
- ½ English cucumber, peeled and diced
- 2 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced (use only the green part for less onion flavor)
- 1 minced fresh jalapeño (seeds removed)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Juice of 1 lemon and 2 limes (approx 1/4 cup) to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Steps:
- Put all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more chile, lemon, or salt as needed.
- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to a day.
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