This summer, we continue to support and celebrate local agriculture by helping provide fresh produce within our community! The Mid-Atlantic Food Resiliency and Access Coalition (MAFRAC) Local Food Grant provides funding to organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region to support food relief by nonprofits and business that are distributing locally produced food for free or pay-what-you-can models. With funding from MAFRAC to provide fresh and locally grown produce to our partners at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, we can support 3 local farms by purchasing their most abundant farm crops. We are supporting McCleaf’s Market, Beanstalk, and J&W Valley View Farm; all vendors at the weekly Thursday Herndon Farmers Market on Lynn Street.
McCleaf’s Market is a 52 acre fifth-generation family farm located in Biglerville, PA. The farm has a strong commitment to sustainable and innovative growing practices and is Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certified. Beanstalk is a hyper-local vertical farm located in our own neighborhood of Herndon, VA. This indoor farm is run by 2 brothers, Mike & Jack Ross, with a focus on the future of farming within the very neighborhoods they serve. J&W Valley View Farm is a mother and son run family farm located in Westmoreland County, VA. Wanda and her son Manny have been running their farm since 1991 and frequent many farmers markets in Fairfax County.
St. Anne’s Episcopal Church runs a monthly food distribution program for over 125+ families. A group of dedicated volunteers team up to fill bags with non-perishable foods and another bag of produce to distribute to their clients. Fairfax Food Rescue is able to support the St. Anne’s Episcopal Church food distribution program by delivering produce directly from the farmers to the church on their distribution date. July was the first month we were able to offer this support and plan to continue this program with St. Anne’s through the farmers growing season.
Rescued food can often run the gamut between unhealthy convenience foods to highly local fresh meat and produce. By working closely with MAFRAC, St. Anne’s, and our local farmers, we can provide healthy options to our neighbors. We hope you join us in celebrating our local farmers by supporting their continued hard work to bring locally grown and nutritious produce into our homes.