City dwellers who want to experience “farm to table” up close and personal should head to Common Good City Farm, a green oasis in LeDroit Park that supplies freshly picked fruits and veggies to DC’s low-income residents*.
Volunteers are needed to work on the farm and help with weeding, planting seeds, painting, and building. Before you can get your hands dirty, you’ll have to attend a 45-minute volunteer training session, which takes place at the farm on the first Saturday of each month at 9:30am. Plants, produce and herbs from the farm are sold at the Bloomingdale Farmers Market (1st and R Street, NW) from 10am – 2pm on Sundays.
In addition to being an urban farm, CGCF is also an education center offering workshops on everything from from composting and pickling veggies to how to cook a healthy meal for the whole family for less than $5.
*Since January 2007, CGCF has provided more than 150 bags of fresh produce to low-income DC families, taught more than 200 DC residents in workshops, engaged more than 250 DC school children, and hosted more than 400 volunteers.
Farmers markets are under-utilized in most areas. One problem is the hours. Our local farmers market is open one day a week and closes at noon. If I sleep in on the weekends I;ve missed it.
Andy Greene
Going Green for Rednecks