From Field to Market: Experiencing FRESHFARM’s Impact at Dodo Farms and the Columbia Heights Market
When you’re shopping with your favorite farmer at the farmers market, do you ever imagine what their day-to-day work on the farm is like, or what it takes for them to bring their beautiful products to market? Earlier this fall, a group of FRESHFARM donors and supporters experienced first-hand what it takes to grow the abundance that we enjoy at the farmers market every week, and how FRESHFARM uses that abundance to support the local community.
On a beautiful autumn day, FRESHFARM convened a group of funders, board members, and staff for a behind-the-scenes farm-to-market tour of how we create economic opportunity for local farmers and connect families, children, and seniors to fresh, healthy food. This visit was one of the ways in which FRESHFARM brings our funders and donors closer to the mission that they help realize. It also allowed our supporters to witness FRESHFARM’s impact at every step in food’s journey from the farm to people’s plate.
The day began with a tour of Dodo Farms in Howard County, Maryland, followed by a visit to our FRESHFARM Columbia Heights Wednesday Market. This market is a vital community food access point and is also a hub for our food distribution programs.
A Visit to Dodo Farms
At Dodo Farms, owners Tope Fajingbesi and Niyi Balogun led attendees around their fields and shared their journey to becoming landowners in 2024. Niyi got his start farming in Nigeria and relocated to the US to join his wife, Tope, an accountant and agribusiness lecturer and advisor at the University of Maryland. Niyi dreamed of starting a farm in the US, and for six years the couple farmed on leased land in Montgomery County. Thanks to the support of a local agricultural investment group and a bank that offered favorable loan terms, they were able to purchase their 10-acre farm earlier this year. They also attributed their farm business’s success to their participation in our markets, where their revenue grew from $6,000 annually when they first joined the FRESHFARM network in 2018 to six figures annually today.
Dodo Farms is Certified Naturally Grown (a grassroots alternative to the USDA’s National Organic Program), meaning they don’t use any synthetic chemical inputs on their fields or use GMOs. They manage soil fertility and weeds through compost, row cover, and cover crops, and grow an impressive array of vegetables from around the world. Niyi showed visitors fields of kale, lettuces, radishes, herbs, and more with unique varieties from countries as diverse as Japan, Italy, and Nigeria. Niyi and Tope love providing vegetables to their customers that they can’t find anywhere else. What’s more, they are also committed to sharing about the different health benefits of the crops they grow with in-depth, informative signage at their stands.
FRESHFARM’s Impact with the Pop-Up Food Hub at the Columbia Heights Market
After the farm tour, attendees enjoyed an all-local lunch prepared by FoodPrints Senior Culinary Coach Margi Fineran as they journeyed back to Washington, DC and the Columbia Heights Wednesday market. At the market, participants witnessed FRESHFARM’s Pop-Up Food Hub in action as Caron Gremont, Director of Food System Resiliency & Innovation, described the Pop-Up Food Hub’s packaging and distribution operation and its mission to support small- and mid-sized local farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region and nourish our community, especially those who struggle with food security.
Participants appreciated seeing first-hand how this low-infrastructure food distribution hub leverages FRESHFARM’s network of farmers and markets to make our food access, distribution, and education programming possible. “Meeting Tope and Niyi at Dodo Farms helped me understand just how much labor goes into selling produce at farmers markets, from seed to stand,” noted Sarah Hashmall, Program Officer at The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, one of FRESHFARM’s long-standing funders. “Tope and Niyi’s story also clarified how FRESHFARM enables small farm business growth by connecting farmers to a reliable customer base that is committed to supporting local agriculture,” she added.
Jamie Baxter, another long-time friend and funder and Senior Program Officer at Prince Charitable Trusts, shared, “It was a gorgeous day and a unique opportunity to engage with the amazing people who, with help from FRESHFARM and so many partners, are building a regional food economy that is better for people, the planet, and the communities we call home.”
