When the city shut down, the Arcadia Mobile Market opened up -- nearly two months ahead of schedule

Arcadia's Mobile Market Director Erin Close realized in March that thousands of regular market customers were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.

Close knew the people who purchased more than 50 tons of fresh local produce at the Mobile Market's 10 sites across Washington D.C. in 2019 would struggle to access fresh food. In the best of times, getting food in these 10 neighborhoods is tough. Pandemic restrictions made it worse.

It hit home when -- pre-pandemic -- she announced a monthly "pop-up" market, a way to stay in touch with customers before the official season began in May. Within minutes of announcing the market -- just as the quarantine was about to go into effect -- she had more than 200 orders from customers otherwise unable to access grocery stores.

On a recent Saturday, Pam Curry, a retired legal secretary who's been a Mobile Market customer for two years, waited in line to buy "her" chicken thighs as she lovingly refers to the Ayrshire Farm poultry she's come to expect from the market.

"I'm a senior and I have health issues--I'm not going to a grocery store right now," she explained. "Erin and her crew bringing the market to these communities a month early like this was a real relief. People don't believe it when I say we get farm to table right here in our own neighborhood but it's the truth, thanks to Erin and the Market."

Close, in her third year leading the Market, understood what the pandemic would mean for her customers and swung into action. She swiftly created a safe food distribution training plan based on best practices for social distancing for customers and employees and implemented it for her March markets. And she quickly made plans to implement multiple weekly markets through April to serve her customers. When the mayor required outdoor markets to apply for waivers to operate, the Arcadia Mobile Market was ready: it received the first one granted, on April 9.

Erin Close stands with Patricia Williams, the ANC commissioner for 5E02 and longtime supporter and volunteer of Arcadia's Mobile Market in Edgewood. 

Close learned from her first pandemic market and implemented tweaks to her plan. She added employees to manage lines, calling up alumni staff to ensure she had a practiced team; she asked the farmer to pre-pack boxes for efficiency; and she built sneeze guards and distributed fabric masks that she washes for staff between uses.

Arcadia's long-time Mobile Market partner the Bainum Family Foundation then stepped in with the missing piece: the funds to cover operating these unexpected markets and the 300 fresh local produce boxes from Earth N Eats Farm in central Pennsylvania to be distributed for free every week. Supplemented with leafy greens from other local farms, these boxes included lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, beets, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Mindful of her customers' purchasing habits, Close also set up a socially distanced free-choice market, accepting cash, credit, and SNAP for customers who wanted to buy meat, eggs, and additional produce to supplement their boxes -- as well as for new customers who traveled across town to shop for local food in the fresh air, rather than a grocery store.

Customers at the Edgewood pop up market followed social distancing guidelines as they picked up produce boxes May 1.

The produce boxes, distributed free on a first come, first served basis, were a lifeline for some of the market's regular customers in neighborhoods where brick and mortar stores are few and far between. People lined up down the street, six feet between them and waited for their turn to step to the table and grab a full box and a bag before purchasing a la carte items, including eggs, yogurt, fresh honey, apples, beef and pork ribs, chickens, cutlets and thighs. 

Customers wait to buy a la carte items after picking up boxes of fresh produce. 

Customers who used SNAP/EBT (food stamps) or WIC received a 50% discount on a la carte purchases, making the pop-up markets even more important to customers quarantined without access to the myriad of food delivery options much of the country is using to fill their pantries. Many such services require credit cards, and some Mobile Market customers don't have them.

Lissette Ampara, back for her second season as a Mobile Market employee, acted as a personal shopper for market customers to help maintain prop[er social distancing. 

Close and her team marked distances off on the sidewalk, set up hand-washing stations, and handed out masks for customers who didn't have one. Arcadia staff served as personal shoppers so customers didn't have to handle anything until they walked away with their purchase.

Behind the scenes market employees were reminded to practice good hygiene while at the market and at home; to treat their cell phone like their third hand [how often do you wipe your phone down!?] and to limit their exposure to people when they weren't at work to diminish their chance of exposure to the Coronavirus.

Simple and effective: shoppers were encouraged to wash their hands as they made their way to the pick-up station.

Pam Curry waits in line as a Mobile Market employee gathered the items she selected.

Curry stepped to the front of the line to pay as one of the market employees bagged the items she selected for purchase. She didn't have a produce box.

"I got a box last week and it was so plentiful I don't need anything more today. I shared some with my neighbor and I still have some left," Curry said. "I see people here with a greater need than I have right now--let them enjoy the bounty this week."

The Mobile Market offered two pop-up markets per week for four weeks, giving out 150 bountiful boxes of produce at each site.

Gabriela Gomez, the newest employee on the Mobile Market team, said it was a long day and a lot of satisfying work. "It's a bizarre time in the world right now, and there are so many people in need," she said. "It's great to see people come together, to see everyone is welcome here. I'm glad to be part of it."

Setting the pace, Gabriela Gomez stacks more produce boxes and prepares to slide them to waiting customers.

Arcadia's regular market season, with financial support from Bainum, DC Health, the Family Alliance Foundation and the Cloudbreak Foundation, is scheduled to open the first week of June.  Erin and her market team have paused pandemic operations for the remainder of May to hire and train more staff and to revise the market model for the coming season.

The hastily recalled team of Mobile Market employees were proud to step in and serve their customers in a time of need.

For more information about the Mobile Market, a list of sites, sourcing partners and opportunities to get involved, visit our page and see why the customers are so excited to see us season after season.  See you in June!

All packed up and ready to go, the Mobile Market team wrapped up a successful stop.

The More Things Change, The More Things Stay the Same at the Farm

COVID-19 can’t stop Spring – and there’s plenty of work happening in the fields at Dogue.  

There’s a different feeling in the air though, and fewer people than the farm usually sees this time of year; our site is closed. The gate is closed to keep out unplanned  visitors. The trove of hardworking volunteers who joyfully work in the fields with us  starting in April aren’t anywhere to be seen. 

Instead it’s Katherine, the farm’s production manager farming for her fifth year, and Farm operations Manager Kenneth now in his second year, at Arcadia. They’re joined by three Farm Fellows from Arcadia’s 2016, 2019 and 2020 Veteran  Farmer Reserve Program – Zeek, Vanessa and Megan. 

Katherine said they’re sticking to their crop plan in spite of COVID-19 and they’ve implemented social distancing and hygiene measures to stop the virus from  spreading. 

The first sign is the hand washing stations just about everywhere you look. Last year’s three stations ensured farmers and volunteers had ample opportunity to follow food safety regulations and spend the day with clean hands – everyone was encouraged to sing two iterations of happy birthday.

And that was in "before" times.

Hand washing stations are set up in the green house, near the entrance to the field, at the restroom, near the break and education station, the walk in cooler and other spots across the farm.

Now, there are eight soap and water stations, each with additional hand sanitizer and soberly worded signs reminding staff the importance of clean hands, and disinfecting their phones and cars, too.  

"We can’t do this – we can’t farm – without being here. We’ve all had food safety training – and some of that conveys to COVID-19 precautions,” she said. “We appreciate having a job that is outside and allows us to maintain social distance-- but it's still scary. Any one of us could contract it and bring it to the farm--any one of us could pass it to someone and then they’d carry it back to their family.”  Katherine and Kenny are doing everything in their power to prevent that from happening. 

Katherine readies a weed whacker before heading into the field to join Kenny and Megan to cut  down an acre of cover crop. 

They eat lunch sitting 6 feet apart from one another, masks or a bandanas hanging around their necks.  each farmer had a different response to the way social distancing affects their time on the farm. 

Vanessa, who spent hours every week last year as a volunteer and came back to work part-time as a Fellow, is familiar with the day to day operations on the farm. “A lot if this is the same. All of the systems Katherine had in place for hand washing and crate washing – we did all of that before COVID-19 showed up,” she said. “It’s like we were ahead of everyone else. The hardest thing about social distancing is I like to harvest side by side with someone because we can chit chat – although maybe the six feet apart makes the work go faster.”

Megan, currently enrolled in the Veteran Farmer Reserve Program, spent time at Dogue as a volunteer last year and said the biggest change is not harvesting side by side or across from someone. 

“The reason I’d like to harvest side by side is to learn from Kenny and Katherine as we go," she said.  Adaptations are made. 

“They still teach us. We’re assigned a harvest or a task, they explain it and then they come back to check on technique and make adjustments. We’re still learning.”

In a moment of levity – though absolutely serious – Zeek, a 2016 graduate of Arcadia’s Veteran Farmer Reserve said he likes the social distancing. “I don’t have to smell people,” he said. I don’t even like my own body odor – six feet apart means I won’t smell anyone else.” 

Social distancing regulations means it’s just the five of them every day. “We’re only focused on growing food now that we’ve got fewer people. When volunteers are harvesting, there’s time to pay attention to mowing and landscaping and the way the farm looks. Without them, all we (can) do is plant and harvest,” said Kenny.

Working alone at the back of the farm, Kenny unloaded a ton of gravel without a mask on--enjoying solitude and fresh air. 

Katherine said face masks are nice on a cold day. They’re not nice when it’s really hot – but they’re wearing them when they’re in proximity to each other, even if it’s further than six feet.

The reality has set in that this is likely to last the entire season.

“I was pushing through until mid-May but now I’ve accepted, this is 2020. This is farming with COVID-19. We have to maintain vigilance and mitigate risks to protect ourselves and our families,” said Katherine. 

“We’ll see what the next couple of months bring and it may mean we don’t plant the next succession of tomatoes. That’s fine. We’ll be nimble – farmers are used to that.”

Arcadia Farm, usually bustling with dozens of volunteers and scores of school children, is now farmed by three women and two men, working six long days each week to bring fresh vegetables to under resourced neighborhoods, as safely as possible.

COVID-19 Spring 2020 Field Trip Updates

Dear Educators,

Following VA Governor Ralph Northam’s announcement to close all Virginia schools for the remaining portion of SY 2019/20, it is with a heavy heart that Arcadia has decided to cancel the upcoming Spring 2020 Field Trip season.

In order to make this situation a little easier, we wanted to offer schools who are already scheduled for a Spring 2020 field trip two options for refunding their payments and rescheduling: 

Option 1: Reschedule your school’s confirmed field trip to the Fall 2020 Field Trip season with a guaranteed spot on the calendar, dates TBD. Arcadia will contact you in late August 2020. We will reassess student numbers, and arrangements will be made to accommodate changes in group size. New contracts will be distributed and signed. We will hold on to any payments that your school has made thus far.

Option 2: Cancel your field trip and waive the option to schedule a Fall 2020 Field Trip at this time. Arcadia will return your field trip fees in the form of a check at the beginning of the 2020/21 school year. Checks will be mailed to your school’s office administrator.

We understand that this decision may take some time, and we ask all schools to let us know how they would like to adjust their plans by August 30th.

Please contact Ivy Mitchell at Ivy@Arcadiafood.org with your preference or for more information. 

In the meantime, Arcadia is sharing links to online educational resources as well as locations where affected students and families can access meals and food supplies. Feel free to share the link to our Educational Resource Master Sheet which we will update as new materials become available: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PVKfR7hc6hC5wV6OrcdRq1unYNec8KRlkM2fT9AOyn8/edit?usp=sharing.

Finally, stay tuned to our social media as our Farm Education staff and farmers share educational videos and farm inspired crafts.

Thank you for your continued support — we will miss you all so much this Spring. Stay safe and take care of yourselves.

All the best,

Ivy Mitchell, Farm Education Director and the entire Arcadia Farm Staff

#HealthyTogether: Join us in looking out for our neighbors!

Many residents, workers, families and children in the DMV will be adversely impacted by closures and concerns due to COVID-19.

We can all help.

 

As we mark the occasion of  Arcadia being featured in the March 22nd episode of MSNBC’s, What’s Eating America with Andrew Zimmern with a Facebook Watch Party Event.

Arcadia, The Capital Area Food Bank and Neighborhood Restaurant Group are 

pleased to announce a joint fundraising effort to help our community.

Click HERE to donate to #HealthyTogether

50% of proceeds will go to Arcadia’s Mobile Market Program 

More than 5,000 families in 10 neighborhoods in DC rely on Arcadia's Mobile Markets 

for affordable access to nutritious, fresh food.   

.

50% of proceeds will go to the Capital Area Food Bank 

As the area’s largest hunger relief organization, the Capital Area Food Bank has significant regional infrastructure and storage capacity, which it is rapidly mobilizing to continue providing help for thousands of kids and families during this time.

Learn more about our organizations and collective response below.

ARCADIA – 10th Anniversary
Since its establishment in 2010, Arcadia's mission has been to improve the health of our community, support the viability of local farmers, and preserve the environment for future generations.

More than 5,000 families in 10 neighborhoods in DC rely on the Arcadia Mobile Markets for  affordable access to nutritious, fresh food. At our winter pop-up markets and our regular weekly markets starting in May, we double the purchasing power of federal nutrition benefits. That means $10 on an EBT card – formerly known as food stamps – gets our customers $20 in the best food local farms have to offer. We also double WIC vouchers, for mothers of young children and pregnant women, and Senior vouchers, for low-come seniors.

Learn more about Arcadia's COVID-19 response HERE


CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK – 40th Anniversary
Now commemorating our 40th anniversary year, the Capital Area Food Bank works to address hunger today and create brighter futures tomorrow for the nearly half a million people across the region experiencing food insecurity. As the anchor in the area’s hunger relief infrastructure, we provide over 30 million meals to people in need each year by supplying food to 450+ nonprofit organizations, including Martha’s Table, SOME – So Others Might Eat, DC Central Kitchen, Food for Others, Manna, and others. Through these partnerships, the food bank supports 10 percent of our region’s mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and grandparents.

Learn more about the Capital Area Food Bank’s response to COVID-19 HERE

Arcadia Coronavirus Policies and Program Information

Friends,

Nutritious food is essential, now more than ever. So we wanted to update you on how Arcadia is caring for caring for the community during the pandemic.

Arcadia’s Mobile Market pop up on March 18th will honor pre-orders only, in order to support both food access and social distance. Please place your order at this link by midnight on March 17th: tinyurl.com/march18popup. We will have your food packed up and ready to go when you arrive!

Arcadia’s Mobile Markets will also distribute FREE MEALS at both locations for any youth affected by school closures. Thank you to DC Central Kitchen for collaborating with us on this!

The two pop-up locations on March 18th are:
11:00am-1:00pm in Edgewood, Edgewood St NE & Evarts St NE, 20017
2:00-4:00pm at Bellevue Library, 115 Atlantic St SW, 20032

Place your pre-order here by Tuesday, March 17th at midnight: tinyurl.com/march18popup

ARCADIA FARM
Arcadia Farmers Katherine and Kenny, and our three new Veteran Farm Fellows Zeek, Vanessa, and Megan, are hard at work on the farm preparing the soil for planting and tending seedlings in the greenhouse for the upcoming growing season. On Monday, they will glean winter greens and other crops to donate to an area food bank.

Our partner and landlord, Woodlawn & Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House, is closed to the public until at least March 27th. Therefore, we are not accepting volunteers or visitors on the farm until further notice.

FARM AND NUTRITION EDUCATION
Arcadia Farm Education team Ivy and Juan Pablo are foster-parenting seedlings started in local school greenhouses and classrooms that might otherwise wither during school closures. When the kids get back to school, we will return their healthy seedlings ready to be planted, and their gardens won't miss a beat.

Fairfax County Public Schools has currently cancelled all extracurricular activities and field trips through April 12th. We do not believe this will affect the upcoming field trip season which begins April 22, and are eagerly preparing for students and teachers to join us. However, we will follow FCPS’ lead, and should anything change, we will update our website and social media with new information as it becomes available.

We will continue to operate all non-public programming during this time, and will be available by phone and internet for meetings and program coordination.

We are taking prudent steps to keep Arcadia staff, customers, and volunteers healthy, so all other public programming is cancelled through March 27.

We will revisit and update this policy every Friday and share to our social media accounts (@arcadiafood) and Arcadia's website: arcadiafood.org/CoronavirusUpdates

Please contact us if you have questions or concerns.

Wishing you all health and safety,
Team Arcadia