The DC blogosphere has been buzzin’ for weeks about the new FreshFarm Markets farmers market at 801 Vermont Avenue NW…kind of close to a little known residence. Earlier today, Brian and I headed out to the opening ceremonies, braving the rain (which was really just a drizzle) and the security (which wasn’t really that bad). There was much fanfare before the market opened, including wonderful speeches from Ann Yonkers and Bernie Prince of FreshFarm Markets, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Mayor Fenty and this lady named Michelle Obama (you may have heard of her). During his speech, Vilsack announced plans for over $8 million in grants to help further the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative (which was met with thunderous applause).
The market has a lot of familiar faces, including the Bread Ovens at Quail Creek Farm, Cedarbrook Farm, Everona Dairy and Toigo Orchards, just to name a few (for a complete list of the wonderful producers at this new market, check out Capital Spice’s post here). They also had a couple of vendors I hadn’t seen before, including the lovely, all-things-lavender Welsh Gardens. I picked up some of their marketgasmic (Brian’s word, not mine) sugar and chocolate lavender cookies (quick shout out to Thrifty DC Cook for sharing some of these cookies with us before the speeches started), as well as their aromatic culinary lavender. Conveniently located next to the McPherson Square metro station, this market is ideally located for all those fed workers (like myself) who want a place to pick up fresh produce, meats, dairy (including milk from Clear Spring Creamery) and baked goods on their way home. I’m still amped up from actually SHAKING MICHELLE OBAMA’S HAND (not that I was excited or anything), so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…after the jump!
As an editorial note, I wasn’t able to bring my Canon XTi, so the pictures aren’t the best quality. But trust me when I tell you this is a great market and a wonderful addition to the DC local food scene!
Click here for more pictures from opening day at the White House Farmers Market!
The Farmers Market at the White House is open on Thursdays from 3-7 pm and will remain open until October 29th!
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