Support DC's urban growers!

Hello, dear readers. I'm writing to you today with a call for help on behalf of my urban farming and community gardening friends here in the District. The Field to Fork Network is trying to raise some funds to get a collaborative market stand up and running this growing season. The goal: promoting healthy eating and community engagement at a number of markets around the city. (It's a project after my own heart, to be sure.) A number of groups we visited along the DC urban farms bike tour are involved, and a few that were not able to be included this time around. (As it was we had five stops!) Some of my favorites from around the city, many of whom have been working on food access and education for years, are coming together to make this project happen: the Neighborhood Farm Initiative, Beet Street, Washington Youth Garden, City Blossoms, Bread for the City.

Yes, it's a Kickstarter campaign... something with which I am intimately familiar. In this case, the funds will kickstart the project with funds to purchase needed supplies and materials, which will in turn allow the Field to Fork urban food educators and growers to operate small market booths. It also includes a modest stipend to fund a market coordinator to keep all of the necessary ducks in a row and get the systems in place for future -- hopefully expanded -- market seasons. They're looking to raise funds for the following, but if you (or someone you know) can donate any of these items, it'll help the group out immensely: tables, tents, scales, banners, chairs, calculators, camping stoves (probably my weathered beercan stove will not suffice, alas), cooking supplies. There's a bit set aside for educational materials and transportation as well, but $4,000 is a drop in the bucket when you consider all of the public good coming out of this. Actually, here's the video so you can see for yourself what they have in mind:



Now, people, they only have 30 hours left to raise the remaining $820 of their $4,000 goal to get things off the ground. Help an urban farmer out, eh?

If you plan it, they will come

I have to admit I got misty eyed a few times yesterday while leading the (rescheduled) DC urban farms bike tour. I think it really hit me when we arrived at the Washington Youth Garden, part of the National Arboretum, which was the second stop along the route to five urban food growing spaces around town. The near-tears state was no doubt partly due to the near loss of 15 cyclists en route -- a few folks had stopped to help a fellow biker change a flat and had only my less-than-stellar, turn-by-(mis)turn cue sheet to lead them to the next site -- and relief when they showed up about 20 minutes later. God bless smartphones. (Note to self: do not type up cue sheets after wine-filled dinner party the night before the bike tour. It was a lovely meal, even so, Sheffy.) However, I suspect that part of the emotion as I rolled onto the Arboretum grounds with 50-some cyclists in tow surely came from the realization that it was here, just over 2 years ago, that my friend Tom helped me practice shifting gears on my first real bicycle. I know! Ollie and I are all grown up and leading tours now. Well, one so far.

It was perhaps one of the most gorgeous days I can recall experiencing in the District: 78 and sunny with a light breeze. What perfect weather to introduce a whole new group of bicycling food lovers to some of the more amazing farms and community gardens around town. Things kicked off with seed packet spoke card making and a tour of the Neighborhood Farm Initiative's main garden in Fort Totten. Then the group proceeded to get an introduction to youth gardening and environmental programming at the aforementioned Washington Youth Garden (sweetened by some trail mix goodies, courtesy of a store credit from GLUT), a primer on composting and bee keeping at the Farm at Walker Jones (with fresh fruit and granola bars donated by Whole Foods), a look into intergenerational gardening and youth enterprise at City Blossoms' Marion Street garden (featuring lovely fresh herbal teas and lemonade for thirsty riders), and, only slightly behind schedule in spite of everything, an overview of permaculture, rain collection, and community programming at Common Good City Farm. The excitement and enthusiasm of farmers and cyclists was positively infectious, and I found myself grinning uncontrollably. Yes, even before a couple of beers at the closing happy hour at Big Bear Cafe. (Love that place.)

As things wound down, one person after another came up to thank me for organizing things and ask me when the next ride would be. Well, avid cyclists, future urban farming volunteers, and potential supporters, I hope this is the beginning of a tradition of local food-focused bicycle adventures around my favorite city. We shall see. (I will be sure to get a second opinion -- and a little less wine in me -- before printing out the cue sheet for round two.)

Thank you to The Greenhorns for providing the impetus for this bike tour, to the nearly 60 cyclists who attended the event, to the organizations that donated snacks. But most of all, thank you to my urban farming friends who are teaching us how to grow food, build community, and live more sustainably in the nation's capital.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

May 21: Join the (rescheduled) DC Urban Farm Bike Tour

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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....

1:00-1:45: Neighborhood Farm Initiative site
100 Gallatin Street, NE (near Fort Totten metro station)

1:45-2:30: Biking: head toward Washington Youth Garden

2:30-3:15: Washington Youth Garden
The National Arboretum, R Street entrance (near 24th Street, NE)

3:15-3:45: Biking: head to The Farm at Walker Jones

3:45-4:15: Walker Jones (w/ Vinnie Bevivino of Seed & Cycle)
New Jersey & K Streets, NW

4:15-4:30: Biking: head to City Blossoms' Marion Street intergenerational garden

4:30-5:00: Marion Street garden
1517 Marion Street, NW (Shaw neighborhood)

5:00-5:15: Biking: head to Common Good City Farm

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

5:45-6:00: Biking: head to Big Bear Cafe for happy hour

6:00-8:00: Happy hour
(featuring Arcadia's Farmer Mo with a word on the Greenhorns MidAtlantic chapter)
1700 1st Street, NW

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!

Not just surviving, but thriving

So in case you're wondering, I'm still looking for gainful employment. I've applied for a few promising positions, but nothing's come through yet. (I know: who wouldn't hire me on the spot? Thanks, mom.) In the midst of cover letter writing and tomato canning -- yes, yes, I'll get a post up about that soon -- and post-apartment-flood repairing I've continued to volunteer at a fair number of impressive programs in the DC area. In addition to a few shifts at CulinAerie, this has meant a return to Clagett Farm (where this time I weeded a gigantic patch of sweet potato plants and first heard of the wonderful idea of sauteing sweet potato greens), a workday at City Blossoms' Marion Street garden (which I left with enough pesto-destined basil strapped onto Ollie that I half expected us to topple over at a stop sign on the ride home), and a morning meal shift at Thrive DC (where I found myself not in the kitchen as I'd expected but instead handing out towels and bandying about my Spanish quite a bit). Handing out towels? Yes, folks, I do sometimes find myself doing things that don't directly involve food... or do I?

I'd first heard of Thrive DC from Mike -- a friend of mine who used to work with Alicia, the organization's executive director, on gun control issues a few years back. During an initial meeting with Alicia I heard of a few openings for assistant chefs amid the soup kitchen's restructuring. I later attended a volunteer orientation and signed up for a kitchen shift that brought me back to the organization's church basement location from 8-11am yesterday. (Yes, I, self-proclaimed night owl, chose a morning shift. Once I got a cup of coffee in me, things went pretty smoothly, actually.)

Thrive DC centers around shared daily meals for the homeless, but the food is a means as much as an end, providing an opportunity for other critical services like showers, laundry, counseling, computer access, and friendly conversation. (Food as a means for social gathering. Hmmm, I do believe I've mentioned the importance of this on the blog before. Yes, maybe once or twice.) My initial interest was in the kitchen operation, but since I spoke Spanish I was recruited to help out at the laundry/shower station instead. While registering people for bathing shifts and handing out towels and toiletries, I came to understand that Thrive DC is about so much more than hot meals. It's about relationship building and reaching out to help the whole person (not just his or her tummy, though with regular donations of delicious prepared food from Pret a Manger, their tummies are sometimes quite happy). In addition to the regular appearance of housing advisers, counselors, mental health specialists, nutritionists, job coaches, and Veterans Affairs representatives, there are activities each evening ranging from group therapy sessions to movie nights to yoga. There is some talk of an art therapy component being developed, modeled after a program at Miriam's Kitchen -- another partner in the DC-area homelessness and food justice arena. I was impressed by this model of collaboration, this program so successfully drawing on the diverse strengths and interests of its staff, partners, and volunteers.

There are many ways to get involved with Thrive DC. They welcome individual and group volunteers in the cafeteria and the computer lab. You can make a traditional donation (money) or a less traditional one (toiletries, food, professional skills). You can help the small but devoted staff develop additional activities or facilitate connections with other partners around town. I am myself trying to figure out if there just might be a way to harness some of the excess food from local farms and farmers' markets for use in the kitchen that serves around 150 meals each day. And I have already (repeatedly) expressed my willingness to be a recipe consultant. What can you do with 50 pounds of donated sweet corn? How can you prepare 10 crates of tomatoes as part of something simple, nutritious, and delicious? Call me.

Hmmm. A recipe consultant. Know any paying jobs along those lines?

We plant because we love it

So this morning, after a quick breakfast at Baltimore's hip Common Ground cafe, Rebecca, co-founder of the fabulous City Blossoms program, helped me toss Ollie in the back of her truck and we headed across town to check out the impressive efforts of the girls at Garrison Middle School.



Clearly there were examples of artistry and creativity all around, from the brightly painted tires recycled as bulb planters to the plastic soda bottles finding a second life as makeshift mini greenhouses. I loved the overt joy and excitement that informed every moment of the discussion with Rebecca as she showed me around the site and told me about the amazing Growing Girls and Gardens program that was empowering young women in the community. From planting and harvesting vegetables and herbs, to creating a welcoming communal green space, to producing their own line of "Nature's Beauty" herbal products that they then sold (and quickly sold out of!) at the Waverly farmer's market last winter, Rebecca has seen the group of 6th-8th grade girls grow up before her eyes.

Gardening has the potential to open the door to so many things: "Maybe they'll think differently about food, about seeking out healthy choices. Or maybe they will understand how their actions impact the environment. More than anything, though, I hope that their involvement with these projects helps the girls to realize that they can make positive changes in the world around them -- make things more beautiful, change things that are wrong, stand up for their ideas." In a single breath, Rebecca had articulated so much of the appeal of gardening with youth and the potential it holds.

There is some talk of the girls selling some of the seeds that they collected and dried from last years flower and vegetable crops. Stay tuned to the City Blossoms news to see when and where you can get them and help support this exciting work!