Feeding the City - DC Urban Farms

City Blossoms’ urban farms aim to foster healthy communities by building creative, kid-driven green spaces. The green spaces and programs empower children and youth to be stewards of their communities through cooking, gardening, community development, and artistic activities. 

City Blossoms is a non-profit organization that employs seven full-time and three part-time employees, plus three seasonal interns. It operates with a multi-year partnership with schools and early childhood centers to build interactive gardens and train teachers in using the gardens. It’s early childhood, elementary, and high school partner sites are located across the city in Wards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. In addition, there are four Community Green Spaces, which are interactive, communal spaces at which open programming and community celebrations are conducted weekly. The Community Green Spaces are located in Wards 1, 4, 6, and 7 and named as the Girard Children's Community Garden, the Marion Street Inter-generational Garden, the Youth Garden at the Farm at Kelly Miller, and The Garden at City Blossoms Studio.

City Blossoms has:

• A "You Help, You Harvest" policy, which encourages participants and volunteers to take home a portion of the garden harvest;

• The Youth Entrepreneurship Cooperative, a high school program in which students direct their own garden-based, micro-enterprise called Mighty Greens. They grow food in their school gardens and make value-added products such as herb-scented body butters and herbal teas to sell at markets. These young people have created a resilient network, supporting each other through the particular challenges of COVID-19; 

• Created and published numerous free and affordable resources on gardening, nature, and food education in both English and Spanish. These resources can all be downloaded and/or ordered on their website to enable residents to continue garden-based, bilingual education while children are at home.

Common Good City Farm (CGCF) is a place where community members can source fresh food, see sustainable urban agriculture in action, and gain exposure to concepts and skills to lead healthy lives. Their mission is to create a vibrant, informed, and well-nourished community through urban farming. Their aim is to actively engage with all members of diverse communities and create opportunities for connections on the farm, while modeling best practices in sustainable urban agriculture for intensive vegetable production.

Common Good City Farm is located in LeDroit Park at 300 V St. NW, Washington, DC 20001 on 1/3 of an acre. A variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs are grown and sold at their Wednesday Farm Market, from 4-7 pm, mid-May through the end of October, each year. The farm employs four full-time employees, two part-time employees, and additional seasonal part-time employees, as needed. 

During COVID-19, Common Good City Farm has started seedlings to guarantee a year-long harvest to contribute to their community. It is also coordinating with other regional farmers and food donors to ensure a full set of produce and food for their neighborhood. CGCF is also serving as a food distribution site for a variety of partners to provide their neighbors with essential food during this time.

When asked how urban agriculture in the District could be more supported, Common Good City Farm expressed the need for flexible multi-year funding to organizations that practice urban agriculture. Residents can support urban agriculture by purchasing produce, participating in farm events, and advocating for urban farms. 

DC Urban Greens aims to increase accessibility of affordable healthy foods to residents living in DC's food desert neighborhoods by focusing on three areas: feeding bodies, nourishing minds and growing communities.

Feeding Bodies - We use innovative and scalable growing methods to grow healthy vegetables in underutilized and temporarily available urban spaces. Through partnerships and community connections we distribute produce directly to our neighbors.

Nourishing Minds - We host urban agriculture workshops to expand community knowledge about growing food in the city. By teaching people to grow their own food, we lessen household food insecurity and contribute to building a workforce in the green economy.

Growing Communities - By encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship, we support Ward 7 & 8 urban farmers who grow food right in the neighborhoods that need it most - low income areas lacking easy access to grocery stores.

DC Urban Greens is a mentor to DMV Urban Greens. DMV Urban Greens operates two gardens in DC: one at the Fort Dupont Ice Arena and the other at the Washington Nationals Youth Basketball Academy, both in Ward 7. Managed by Taboris Robinson, the quarter acre parcels of land produce vegetables, fruits, and herbs which are sold at the farm stand or through our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) memberships. Any remaining produced is donated to community members. DMV Urban Greens has two full time volunteers and no employees at this time.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the request for social distancing and stay-at-home orders, gaining access to fresh produce is even harder than usual. DC Urban Greens have partnered with Safeway Foundation and DMV Urban Greens to distribute organic produce to their neighbors each week.

The Farm at Kelly Miller (FKM), a project of the non-profit organization Dreaming Out Loud, is an urban production and educational farm that grows food for community and school-based markets. It also provides farm field trips, workshops, and volunteer opportunities for youth and adults that focus on training the next generation of leaders in the food and farm system. The on-farm educational programming provides students with culturally relevant content that addresses the impact of environmental racism, climate change, and food access in our community.

FKM is located at 3600 Brooks St. NE, Washington, DC. on two acres in Ward 7. Three employees efficiently staff the farm. Produce grown includes seasonal vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers. Most products are sold at Kelly Miller Middle School farmers market and through the Dreaming Out Loud food hub network. The team has developed strong partnerships with DC restaurants to be able to provide fresh meals made with local produce to community members who come to Kelly Miller to access remote learning materials. Dreaming Out Loud continues to use its focus on integrated food systems to build relationships between local food producers, food processors, food distributors, and those in need of healthy meals, now more than ever.

When asked how urban agriculture in the District could be more supported, Dreaming Out Loud suggested policies that make it easier for urban farmers to access the infrastructure needed to develop vibrant urban farms that can produce, store and distribute food within their local community.

During the public health emergency, the team at Dreaming Out Loud has been enabling community members to still spend time – socially-distanced – at the Farm at Kelly Miller through an Earth Day Work Day and scheduling times to enable the farm to still be maintained while protecting staff and volunteers.

Little Wild Things City Farm produces soil­-grown microgreens, shoots, and edible flowers on less than one-quarter acre in the heart of Washington, DC. They believe that environmentally sustainable, commercially viable farming is possible in urban landscapes—and they are proving it.

Little Wild Things City Farm is located at 906 Bladensburg Rd. NE, Washington DC 20002 and operates a 3,800 square feet indoor location and a one-quarter acre site for outdoor farming. The farm employs about six people with occasional part time help for our farmer’s markets. It produces over 50 unique varieties of certified naturally grown microgreens and edible flowers. The produce is sold both directly to consumers at their on-farm retail store and at farmer’s markets across the DC metro area. Some produce is also sold wholesale to regional restaurants, local grocery stores, and to Coastal Sunbelt Produce (a distributor) that resells to restaurants across the area. During COVID 19, Little Wild Things was able to quickly pivot to doing direct-to-consumer delivery, along with offering online classes and Farm-in-a-box kits that enable residents to grow their own microgreens at home during quarantine.

When asked how urban agriculture in the District could be more supported, Little Wild Things suggested that residents source food for their diet from local farmers, and that the government create a business license category for urban agriculture and provide grant funding for critical infrastructure and other improvements necessary for the growth of farm businesses.

The P.R. Harris Food Hub (PRH) is a research-based, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) initiative focused on developing a proof-of-concept for business viability developed by the University of the District of Columbia. Its mission is to demonstrate the potential yields, employment opportunities, and educational possibilities that could be recreated throughout the city to directly combat urban food deserts. 

PRH is located at the P.R. Harris Educational campus in Far Southeast DC. The CEA component of the operation is housed with 5,000 sq. ft of indoor growing space. One facility (2,500 sq. ft.) is run entirely using hydroponics techniques (soil-less production) while the other (also 2,500 sq ft.) is run using aquaponic techniques, which integrates fish or shrimp into the operation to provide a sustainable source of protein in addition to the fruits and vegetables grown on site.

A wide variety of crops are grown including swiss chard, two types of mustard, kale, bibb lettuce, edible flowers, arugula, sweet bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, hot peppers, okra, ginger, garlic, and sweet potatoes. At present, all PRH produce is donated to non-profits, shelters, churches, and senior centers in Wards 7 and 8. PRH also partners with organizations like Food Not Bombs that share a similar mission towards equitable food access. During COVID-19, UDC has continued to donate produce to organizations working to get food to those who need it, including Martha’s Table, Bread for the City, and the East of the River Family Strengthening Collaborative’s partner churches in Ward 7.

The farm currently operates with two part time interns (UDC students) and a team of about three additional volunteers who are onsite for roughly 6-9 hours/week.

When asked how urban agriculture in the District could be more supported, PRH suggested advantageous zoning/land use policies so that the inclusion of greenhouses is more appealing to land owners; investing in farms to promote sustainability, food access, water conservation, green jobs, etc.; and building agriculture into the educational opportunities for youth (maybe adding another 'A' to the STEAM model). 

THEARC is an urban farm and fruit orchard located at 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE, Washington, DC. It is a one-acre farm located in Ward 8. THEARC Farm employs three people and focuses on organic growing practices, beekeeping, native pollinators and adult education. Seasonal vegetables include greens, sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, peaches, figs, garlic, culinary herbs and honey. All products are sold at the C.R.I.S.P. Market & Farmshare.

During the public health emergency, while the C.R.I.S.P. Market is on hold until the summer, THEARC Farm is still running its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farmshare throughout the spring. This CSA offers an income-based sliding scale for members to receive weekly fruits, vegetables, herbs, and honey, all produced either on THEARC Farm or through the farm network of local women farmers and farmers of color.

THEARC has also remained a community hub during COVID-19 for food distribution. DC Central Kitchen has been providing lunches for kids every day of the week. World Central Kitchen has partnered with Building Bridges Across the River to provide free hot lunches for all ages on Tuesdays through Thursdays, and Martha’s Table has been distributing free groceries every Wednesday.

When asked how urban agriculture in the District could be more supported, THEARC suggested that urban agriculture grants should be available from the University of the District of Columbia, and the District government should work to build better relationships with the urban agriculture community.

The Well at Oxon Run is a joint venture by DC Greens, the Green Scheme, the Friends of Oxon Run, and DC Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Well employs about five to ten people on its one-acre site at 300 Valley Ave. SE, DC. It will be home to seasonal crop production, a pick-your-own flower garden, a farm stand, a fruit orchard with chickens, a greenhouse, herb and pollinator gardens, and a large youth garden with outdoor classroom. The Well will feature local artists, a memory forest to remember those in the community lost to gun violence, and a community gathering spot perfect for performances, workshops, and community meetings. The seasonal produce, including herbs, and flowers will be sold on site, and to retail sites and restaurants.

During COVID-19, the partners working on The Well at Oxon Run have continued to collaborate to compile food resources for their community, including both government programs in the neighborhood and public-private partnerships.

When asked how urban agriculture in the District could be more supported, the Well indicated that the DC government can make urban farming a higher long-term priority and consideration in the face of the fast-moving development in the city. In addition, DC residents can ask elected officials for more farms in the city. Residents should also reach out to local farms and find ways to get involved.