Gratitude from the Farm
Dear Friend,
As we enter the holiday season, on behalf of everyone at Common Good City Farm, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to you for helping make our vision a reality: an urban farm that not only grows organic produce, but a vibrant, informed, and well-nourished community as well. Whether you attended one of our Community Events, Seed-to-Table Workshops, dinners on the farm, or shopped at our weekly Farm Market–DC’s only pay-what-you-can market–you contributed to cultivating a healthier, more equitable DC.
During our final Farm Market this year, we not only had a bounty of the freshest produce, but plenty of hugs and well wishes to go around as well. Our community lingered to chat one last time before the season ended. Kids stopped by, hoping to snatch the last passion fruits dangling from the vine; seniors exchanged tips on the best way to prepare bitter melon to manage blood sugar levels. As many of our Farm Market customers say, they first came to the market to buy produce, but they kept returning for the relationships and sense of place. What a powerful, beautiful way to visualize impact.
The seeds planted fourteen years ago to create Common Good continue to bear fruit.
This year, with your support, we have also:
Distributed over 16,000 lbs of produce via our Farm Market with a pay-what-you-can model reaching over 300 families per month
Hired and trained 2 teens who support the Farm Market
Harvested over 3,800 lbs of produce from our land
Engaged over 45 volunteers through our City Farmers program who contributed over 600 hours of service
Hosted 10 Community Events that engaged over 500 neighbors and community members
Provided 800 students with agriculture education by hosting over 35 field trips to Title 1 schools
Taught over 100 youth through 79 LEAF classes and 30 Youth Garden sessions
As we plan for the third year of offering a pay-what-you-can model at the Farm Market, one of the only in the DC region, we aim to iterate on the model and continue to expand fresh food access for low-income families through our Farm Market. In 2023, we aim to build upon the youth programs of the past 14 years and expand our impact by developing an entrepreneurship program to engage teenagers in creating and selling value-added products at our Farm Market and delivering produce to seniors in the neighborhood. Equity is at the heart of Common Good’s mission, and we will look for other ways to deepen our relationships with community residents. The more their voices are heard, incorporated into decisions related to our programming and operations, the more impactful we will be.
Will you join us in planting new seeds in 2023?
We invite you to consider your resources and make a contribution that feels significant to you. Because no matter the amount, it is significant to us.
With Gratitude,
Josephine Chu
Interim Executive Director