Arcadia Center For Sustainable Food & Agriculture : Welcome

Just a few short miles from downtown Washington, DC, an innovative new non-profit farming and food initiative has taken root. Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture is dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable food system and culture in the Washington, DC area and a collaborative space for the many local efforts and initiatives around better food. Our mission is to improve the health of our community, the viability of local farmers, and preserve our environment for future generations by combining education about healthy food and its sources with better logistical connections between local farmers and the urban and suburban core of the region.

Thanks to a landmark partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Arcadia has established its operations on the grounds of historic Woodlawn Plantation, once a part of George Washington’s farms at Mount Vernon.

By returning a portion of Historic Woodlawn property to sustainable farming, Arcadia will become the closest working farm to the nation’s capital and will demonstrate an environmentally and economically sustainable model of agricultural and livestock production. We will use only the highest standards of sustainable growing, and cultivate primarily heirloom and heritage foods to increase the biodiversity in this area. Over time we will use our land to grow food for the local school system and we will dedicate a significant portion for a small plot "farmer incubator" program, to encourage careers in sustainable farming by providing mentorship and start-up resources.

The Arcadia Farm will also become a dynamic experiential learning destination for schools and youth organizations. We will use interactive and fun teaching tools to help kids understand big issues like good nutrition, food justice, and environmental stewardship. From a one-hour field trip to a week-long summer camp, we will offer a wide range of programs to fit the needs of the community.

The Mobile Market

Our Mobile Market Project is a visible, direct way to navigate urban spaces and bring fairly priced, fresh produce and dairy to communities with the greatest need. The Mobile Market makes weekly market stops, delivering healthy food to local neighborhoods, and working with schools to provide nutrition education. We are committed to making these goods both affordable and accessible, and will offer as many payment options as possible.

The Farm to School Network

Arcadia is home of the Farm to School Network, a program whose core focus is to get more healthy locally-grown foods into Washington, DC school meals, an objective that will grow and expand at Arcadia. Specifically, the three main program areas include hands-on farm to school education, tools and resources for school food programs, and community engagement.

The Food Hub

In several years, the Arcadia Food Hub will act as a physical link between small, local farms and the DC metro public by providing logistical assistance and education on the economic benefits of sustainable agriculture. Through the Food Hub's various initiatives, Arcadia will help to promote and support low-resource, D.C.-area farmers, as well as distribute fresh local food to schools, restaurants, nonprofits, and retail businesses. The Arcadia Food Hub will increase farmers’ economic viability, expand the production of sustainable, small-scale agriculture in the National Capital region, and provide the public with access to healthy, local food.

Mobile Market Spring Schedule

Arcadia is committed to providing access to sustainably and locally-produced food in communities throughout our area. We’re doing this by applying a food truck approach food access challenges – distributing nutritious and affordable vegetables, fruit, eggs, meat and milk from our Mobile Market. Our 28-foot, retrofitted school bus carries crates of fresh, local food to neighborhoods with limited channels to healthy foods and helps promote healthy lifestyle choices. We do this though one-on-one engagement with schoolchildren and community members about how to use local produce in cost-effective ways.

We accept food assistance benefits such as SNAP, WIC, and Senior Checks, and provide a "Bonus Bucks" program to match the value of these benefits up to $10 when used at the Mobile Market. This program is made possible by partnerships with INOVA, Wholesome Wave, United Medical Center and Capital Area Food Bank. To promote healthy eating, the Mobile Market will have recipes, cooking demonstrations and resources for finding affordable, fresh food elsewhere in the area. The majority of the Mobile Market's offerings are grown at Arcadia Farm, allowing us to offer produce at affordable prices. To supplement our offerings, the Mobile Market sources from Arcadia's agricultural partners including local sustainable producers such as Common Good City Farm, Whipple Farms, White House Meats, Moo Thru, and Kilmer Orchards. Arcadia would also like to thank Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States and Clif Bar for its support of the Mobile Market.

Washington, DC Scheduled Mobile Market Stops

Mondays 9:00-11:00am
Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center, 3500 MLK Jr Ave, SE

Mondays 12:00-2:00pm
The Overlook at Oxon Run, 3700 9th St, SE

Mondays 3:00-5:00pm
Anacostia Metro-Thurgood Marshall Academy, 2427 MLK Jr Ave, SE

Wednesdays 12:00-3:00pm
United Medical Center, 1310 Southern Ave, SE

Wednesdays 4:00-7:00pm
Ledroit Park/Common Good City Farm, Corner of Elm St and 3rd St, NW

Arcadia's Mobile Market will also serve as the farm stand at Arcadia Farm on Saturdays from 10-1 p.m. from June 2 to September 29.

View Mobile Market Schedule 2012 in a larger map

We are happy to announce our inaugural season of the Arcadia Farm Camp! The camp will build on the success of the DC Farm to School Network and the exciting work at Arcadia Farm to help children experience food through hands-on farming, cooking, and eating. The Arcadia Farm Camp is two one-week day sessions, July 16-20 and July 23-27, and is open to children 6 to 10 years old. Register your campers soon! Deadline to enroll is June 1. Please visit the Arcadia Farm Camp website for more information.

We invite you to join us Saturday, June 16 for Family Fun Day - an outdoor summer celebration that's fun for the whole family. The day's activities will include arts and crafts, farm activities, facepainting, games, and of course, healthy snacks for all.

Family Fun Day will be held at Arcadia located on the grounds of Historic Woodlawn at 9000 Richmond Highway in Alexandria, Virginia. Admission is $5 per person and tickets can be purchased in-person or online in advance by clicking here. Children 2 and younger are free.

Join our mission today! Support of any kind or size is welcome and there are endless ways for you to get behind Arcadia’s work. We wouldn’t be here without your continued interest and support, and we thank you for supporting our efforts to improve our local food system. Please consider making a donation to Arcadia so that we may continue to provide services to children, small farmers, and low-income families in our region.To make a donation, please send a check to:

Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture
9000 Richmond Highway
Alexandria, VA 22309

Your donation may be made payable to “Arcadia Food, Inc.” If you need a tax-deductible receipt, please email info@arcadiafood.org for instructions.

Arcadia is open to the community and free to visit. Tours will be offered starting in Spring of 2011. Please contact Arcadia Farmer Maureen Moodie by email to learn about our farms at Woodlawn.

Woodlawn is open to the public Thursday-Monday from 10am-5pm, and is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For more information, visit Woodlawn’s website here.

Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture was launched by Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG), a business dedicated to maintaining the highest level of quality for the food served at its restaurants, using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible and cultivating a network of conscientious, quality-driven purveyors.

As participants in the food system, NRG is made aware on a daily basis of the myriad inefﬁciencies and inequities that make it so difﬁcult for farmers to thrive and consumers to gain access to good, local food. Through this non-profit initiative, NRG plans to take its engagement on these important issues to a higher level.