I loved my grandfather, James Madison. He ran a tobacco and dairy farm. I spent most of my summers on his farm. We would wake up around 5:00 in the morning, and I would help him bring the cows up from the lower grazing pastures to the milking bays. We would feed the hogs and check the chicken coops for eggs to eat at breakfast. While Granddaddy milked the cow, we would eat breakfast with the milk and eggs. The milk was so fresh my grandmother had to blow the creamy butter away from the rim of the pitcher so that the butter in the milk would not go into our cereal bowls. No pasteurization or preservatives, and, no surprise, we never got sick or had an allergic reaction to all that freshness.

I was sixteen years old before I had a birthday in my home town of Pittsburgh, PA. When I got off the big Greyhound bus each summer in Appomattox, VA, my grandfather would say, “Here comes my city grandson, down to the country to see how real men earn a living.” He would tease me, “Farming is hard work, and city boys do not know anything about working hard.” Then he would laugh with his big, boisterous laugh.

My grandfather was also a very religious, God-fearing man. When the sun started to get a bit hot and I started to fade, he would quote scripture (Genesis 2:15):

“AND the Lord took the man (Adam), and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”

My Garden of Eden is now located at 1525 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC. While working in Bread for the City’s Rooftop Garden this spring and summer, I swear I could feel my grandfather’s presence at times. One day this nice, warm, melancholy feeling came over me, and it was so strong that I started tearing up. I had to get control of my emotions before someone thought that I was crazy. I could hear my grandfather’s voice telling me “farming is hard work, but I prepared you for this very day.” That hot summer day set me up for a healthy make over.

From that moment on, my whole being changed! I made an appointment with BFC’s nutritionist, Sharon, so that I could take advantage of these fresh vegetables that I was harvesting from the Rooftop Garden. Sharon set me up with a good nutritious diet along with correct portion sizes. I lost twenty five pounds, my blood pressure got back to normal levels, and the exercise from riding my bike down to BFC and working in the garden made me feel one hundred percent better. Needless to say, Doctor Randi in the health care clinic was proud of me.

BFC’s Rooftop Garden was not only good for my health, but also my soul! BFC helped me take better care of myself, so I can be a blessing to others in my community. It reconnected me with the teachings of my childhood, that we need to fight for each other and fight for the earth, to be able to take care of each other and stay on our land. I’m glad for my Garden of Eden — a place where more people have the support to be whole people, together in community.

Want to share your own story? Go to Bread for the City’s story bank to share your traditions, memories, hopes and wonders.

The D.C. Farm to School Network is pleased to announce that the third annual D.C. Farm to School Week will take place October 3-7, 2011 in schools across Washington, DC!  The week will get students excited about local food and where it comes from.  Schools will feature seasonal, local foods in their school meals, and engage students in hands-on food education.

Get your school involved! Learn how at www.dcfarmtoschoolweek.org, where you’ll find tools, resources and instructions for registering your school.  The D.C. Farm to School Network will help every step of the way.

Sponsor the event! We’re looking for organizations and individuals interested to help make D.C. Farm to School Week a success.  Read our Sponsor Packet to learn more.

Cleveland Elementary students visit Common Good City Farm

The event will kick-off the first ever National Farm to School Month in October, celebrated by schools all over the country.  Last year, over 150 schools served up seasonal specialties such as honey-braised local apple and collard green salad, and Asian slaw with local cabbage during D.C. Farm to School Week.  And dozens of schools coordinated farm field trips and chef demonstrations to engage students in the farm-to-table process.  Let’s make this year’s event even better!

For more information, visit www.dcfarmtoschoolweek.org or email Andrea Northup, D.C. Farm to School Network Manager at the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture, at andrea[at]dcfarmtoschool[dot]org.  This event is brought to you by the D.C. Farm to School Network and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education Department of Wellness & Nutrition Services, in conjunction with schools and other community partners.  And remember, D.C. School Garden Week will take place Sept. 26 – Oct. 1!

The Parkside-Kenilworth Farmers Market will be just over the Pedestrian Bridge at the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station on the Kenilworth Avenue side. The Market is a collaborative effort between City Interests, the owner and master developer of 15.5 vacant acres of land at Parkside; the University of DC; and the Banc of America Community Development Corporation. The Market is just one of many initiatives underway in DC’s own federally designated Promise Neighborhood, which received a $500,000 grant from the US Department of Education in 2010 to address community-wide issues of health, nutrition, housing, economic development, and education from cradle through college and career.

The yellow star indicates the Farmers Market.

The Market is working toward being able to accept SNAP and WIC payments and hopes to utilize the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) as well. It is the hopes of the Market’s founders that the weekly event will become an outlet for creative, active programming and will draw greater attention to the concerns of food access and nutrition in underserved neighborhoods throughout the District.

This is an exciting development for the Parkside-Kenilworth neighborhood and for Ward 7 as a whole! Check out the Market on Saturday, September 3^rd from 9-1pm to support ongoing efforts to address food access inequalities east of the Anacostia River.

WHAT: Parkside-Kenilworth Farmers Market

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 3^rd from 9am – 1pm and every Saturday following through November

WHERE: The corner of Burnham Place NE & Kenilworth Terrace NE, just off the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station Pedestrian Bridge on the Kenilworth Avenue side. Visible from DC-295.

WHY: Supporting the Market will support the larger cause of bringing greater food access to underserved neighborhoods throughout Washington, D.C.

Join us for our launch on Saturday July 30th from 11am until 5pm at Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church (3000 Penn. Ave. SE).

Aya’s physical farmers’ markets will be a vibrant gathering places and destination points where consumers will come to not only shop for produce, but will be able to access various vendors for goods and services for mental, spiritual and financial health. This holistic approach will attract customers in search of other health experiences such as yoga, exercise classes, or credit counseling which help to improve the community.

Aya Community Markets will offer fresh, local produce, flowers, prepared foods and handcrafted items directly to Ward 7 residents. In addition Aya will host a wide range of family and nutritional programs, including live entertainment, chef demonstrations and youth activities.

Aya will feature:

• Fresh produce and baked goods;
• Handmade arts and crafts;
• Live musical performances;
• Massage therapy, acupuncture and other holistic health services.

Visit http://dreamingoutloud.org/ayamarkets for more!

A Spring Harvest Celebration in D.C. Schools

“Salad greens! Salad greens!”  was the surprising, yet endearing chant heard loud and clear in the cafeteria of Bancroft Elementary of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood at DC Farm to School Network’s 2^nd annual Strawberries & Salad Greens event on May 25, 2011.  

Strawberries and salad greens from farms of the mid-Atlantic region were incorporated into the lunch menufor the day in all 123 DCPS elementary, middle, high schools and educational campuses. Other schools in the city to participate included Friendship Public Charter Schools, CentroNia/D.C. Bilingual PCS, E.W. Stokes PCS, Cesar Chavez PCS (all campuses), Yu Ying PCS, Washington Jesuit Academy, Next Step Public Charter School, and The SEED School.

33 cafeterias across the city also featured a “Where Food Comes From” table. Educational materials provided for those tables included a map and pictures of the farmers who harvested the plants, packets of seeds to grow the plants, and a strawberry and salad green plant to discuss with the kids the process of how part of their lunch was planted, grown, and then harvested.

Festive stickers with the Strawberries & Salad Greens logo were also provided to all students, which they wore proudly on shirts, hands, and even foreheads, as they munched and commented on the special additions to their school lunch: How does it taste? Sweet! Do you know where strawberries come from? The farm! A garden! What do you think these seeds need to grow? Water! Sun! Love! What do you eat strawberries in? Smoothies! Cake! Salad!

Strawberries & Salad Greens is just one example of how DC Farm to School Network is helping introduce fresh produce to kids and create an interest in tasting and learning about where nutritious food comes from.  

For more information on upcoming DC Farm to School Network events, please visit www.dcfarmtoschool.org

After many, many requests from urban farmers, cyclists, and food activists for information on a rescheduled DC Urban Farms Bike Tour, I am elated to let you all know that you can break out your bikes (and helmets, ahem) in less than two weeks. And there are two exciting new additions to the tour, bringing us up to five — yes, five — stops around the District. It’s going to be GREAT!

Here’s the schedule:

9:00am: Pray for sunshine….

1:00: meet at the Neighborhood Farm Initiative site @ Mamie D. Lee Community Garden
100 Gallatin Street, NE (near Fort Totten metro station)
1:00-1:45: Neighborhood Farm Initiative

1:45-2:30: Biking: head toward Washington Youth Garden
(The National Arboretum, enter through R Street near 24^th St, NE)
2:30-3:15: Washington Youth Garden

3:15-3:45: Biking: hear toward The Farm at Walker Jones
New Jersey & K Street, NW
3:45-4:15: Walker Jones (w/ Vinnie Bevivino of Seed & Cycle)

4:15-4:30: Biking: head to City Blossoms’ Marion Street Intergenerational Garden
1517 Marion Street, NW (Shaw neighborhood)
4:30-5:00: Marion Street garden

5:00-5:15: head to Common Good City Farm
V Street, between 2nd and 4th Streets, NW (Ledroit Park)
5:15-5:45: Common Good

5:45: Biking: head to Big Bear Cafe
1700 1^st Street, NW
6:00: Happy hour @ Big Bear (featuring Arcadia’s Farmer Mo with a word on the Greenhorns MidAtlantic chapter)

The sites will all have water, so bring your water bottles. I’m working on getting some snacks, but I’d advise those of you with similarly ravenous appetites to bring a little something to nibble on. And don’t forget your helmet and a sturdy bike lock.

Please RSVP to me (ibberoo2@gmail.com) so the farmers know how many to expect for workshops (and I know for snacks). See you at 1pm on Saturday, May 21!

Check out DC Field to Fork Network’s recently updated events calendar, now featuring recurring volunteer opportunities where you can get involved with DC’s local urban farm and non-profit garden projects!! Different sites have different policies about volunteering and whether you need to go through a volunteer orientation, whether you need to RSVP, or whether you can simply show up day-of – so be sure to click on the event listing for more info on the specific project you’re interested in. Some sites can take large groups of volunteers and others are seeking just individuals.

Depending on the weather, the project, and the season, you could expect to be:

• digging
• weeding
• turning, sifting, or spreading compost
• making woodchip paths
• planting
• mulching
• picking up trash
• painting
• building
• assisting with special events or programs, or
• performing pretty much any other general organic garden maintenance tasks!!

You can be sure that wherever you volunteer, you will definitely get your hands dirty and your hard work will certainly be appreciated!

For more information, or to add events, visit the DC Field to Fork Network website or email dcfieldtofork@gmail.com

In recognizing the intersection between sustainable agriculture and a fair and just food system, we have invited farmers, policymakers, community leaders, and advocates to address such topics as agricultural policy, food sovereignty, building local and just food systems, achieving food access, and the connection between the environment, our health, and our food. With this series, we hope to cultivate insight and conversation among diverse members of the community, demonstrate opportunities for action with locally based initiatives, strengthen our solidarity, and develop an awareness of the pressing need to restore justice to our food and our land.

The first event on March 31, to honor Cesar Chavez Day, will explore the struggle faced by farmworkers and other workers on the land across the globe. Tirso Moreno, leader of the Farmworker Association of Florida, and Board Member of the National Immigrant Farming Initiative and the Rural Coalition will share the experience of farmworkers today. Delegates from the Rural Coalition and National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association will report on Via Campesina’s Global Forum for Life, Environment, and Social Justice in Cancun. Kathy Ozer from the National Family Farm Coalition will discuss food sovereignty and grassroots policy advocacy. We will then have discussion and socializing, and possibly a special guest.

Each event will be held at the flagship location of Busboys and Poets (14th St. and V St. NW), a progressive community gathering place that reaches a diverse audience of artists, activists, thinkers, and dreamers.The series will take place on March 31, May 12 (Food Access), September 22 (Building Local Just Food Systems), and November 17 (Environment, Food and Health) from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

The events are free and open to all, we will be accepting $5 donations at the door. For more information or to find out how you can support the series, please check out our website at www.accokeek.org or contact Molly at 301-283-2113 x32.

And when he sees kale on her cafeteria tray during lunch that week, he eats it and encourages his friends to do the same. He gains a deeper appreciation – through his complete farm-to-table experience – of where food comes from and how it can be prepared in healthy, delicious ways.

During D.C. Farm to School week October 12-15, 2010, nearly 2,000 D.C. schoolchildren will have the chance to harvest seasonal produce on a local farm, and prepare it in the classroom with a professional chef. Additionally, schools across the District (nearly 200 in total) will serve and highlight fresh, local foods in their school meals during the week. The D.C. Farm to School Network is working in partnership with schools, parents, sponsors and community partners to make the week a success. A special thanks to our top-tier sponsors for their support – Whole Foods Georgetown , WGirls DC, and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. For more information, including a complete listing of participating schools and events, visit our site.

D.C. Farm to School Week will begin with an exciting kick-off celebration, featuring battling chefs, a local apple taste test, and a school garden work party/dedication ceremony.

When: Tuesday, October 12th; 1:00pm
Where: Thurgood Marshall Academy & Savoy Elementary’s shared Gymnasium
2427 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE
Near the Anacostia metro station and many bus lines; parking available in lot across the street
RSVP to Kacie @ kwarner@washingtonyouthgarden.org

Special guests Dr. Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and Sam Kass, White House Chef and Senior Policy Adviser for Healthy Food Initiatives will join us, as students judge local chefs competing to create the tastiest dish from a local apple harvest. The images from a city-wide School Garden Photo Contest will be displayed and the winning photographers announced. A brand-new school garden, shared by Thurgood Marshall Academy and neighboring Savoy Elementary School, will be named, dedicated, painted and planted. We’ll also celebrate the passage of the D.C. Healthy Schools Act and the exciting changes in school lunches with Councilmember Mary Cheh. It’s an exciting time for Farm to School here in the nation’s capital – please join us in
celebrating!

Andrea Northup is the Coordinator of the D.C. Farm to School Network, which is a program of the Capital Area Food Bank.