Fruits & Vegetables
Spring Valley Farm and Orchards Eli and Misty Cook of Spring Valley Farm and Orchards bring gorgeous fresh produce to market from Slainesville, WV. They farm 54 acres of diversified orchards and 70 acres of vegetables, and are proud practitioners of integrated pest management, using beneficial insects and no residual sprays. Spring Valley’s offerings couldn’t be sweeter or more colorful. Find an amazing array of salad greens (that stay fresh in the crisper for well over a week) on the center table, and check out the beautiful strawberries, cherries, peaches, haricots verts, potatoes, summer squash, field tomatoes, jams, and much more!
Toigo Orchards comes to market from Shippensburg, PA, bringing fresh produce and amazing sauces, salsas, butters, honey, and more. The orchard uses integrated pest management (beneficial insects and no residual sprays) in its growing methods, meaning all of its fruit can be eaten straight from the orchard. Chat with staff at the Toigo table to see what’s fresh: beautiful tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines… Or treat yourself to a jar of fire-roasted salsa, fresh pasta sauce, bloody mary mix, or applesauce!
Westmoreland Produce Arnulfo of Westmoreland Produce in Warsaw, VA, is a gem. He and his family always bring smiles and offer a wide array of beautiful produce, including greens (collards, salad, kale, and more), squash varieties (and squash blossoms!), potatoes, eight varieties of cherry tomatoes, melons, onions, herbs, and much more. Stop by the Westmoreland stand and you’ll find plenty of inspiration for a week’s worth of delicious, colorful meals! Arnulfo and his wife Rosalinda started farming on four leased acres in 1988 using only handtools. They now own 38 acres and are truly family farmers!
Meat, Eggs & Dairy
Midtrees Farm Karen Dorschner of Midtrees Farm brings fine quality meats to market every week. With a 25-acre family farm in Warrenton, VA, Karen oversees beef production and her mother takes care of the chickens. Midtrees offers amazingly juicy cuts of beef and ground — you won’t find a tastier burger! The cows are grass fed, grain finished, and never treated with hormones or synthetics.
Rocklands Farm is located in Poolesville, MD (only 30 minutes from the District!) Rocklands practices what they call “Holistic Agriculture.” They believe “Holistic” is the best term for what they do because “organic (non-certified)”, “sustainable”, “natural”, “free-range”, “grass-fed” and other terms are all methods of how they farm, but they don’t fully capture the craft of Rocklands farm. The pork, beef, chicken, lamb and eggs that they bring to market are raised with love, and are brought to us with care. In addition to growing and raising fantastic meat, eggs and produce, Rocklands runs educational programs to help people connect with the farm and with their food.
Spriggs Delight Farm of Sharpsburg, MD brings to market some of the best cheeses we’ve ever had, so it should come as no surprise that a number of them are national award winners. Joyce Powers took up cheese making at age 72, and has discovered a hidden talent. From smooth, creamy chevre (in plain and enhanced varieties like pineapple jalapeño, garlic & herb and cran-nut), to ricotta, camembert, tomme, and incredible feta, you can’t go wrong with Spriggs. They are generous with the samples – just one and you’ll be hooked!
Whitmore Farms is a small farm in Frederick County, Maryland emphasizing sustainability and specializing in heritage American breed livestock raised outdoors on pasture. Their lambs and goats are grass fed and grass finished. Their poultry, rabbit and hogs are also outdoors on pasture, but their diets are supplemented with Whitmore’s custom blended feed. This way, they can ensure only the highest quality ingredients with no antibiotics or hormones go into their meats. Try any Whitmore product and experience the difference!
Prepared Goods
Bonaparte Breads of Howard County, MD offers amazing traditional French breads, desserts and pastries. Owner Pierre Lefilliatre has perfected the art of the baguette – with a wonderfully soft and subtle inside and a perfectly crispy crust on the outside. The lines for the croissants and other pastries speak for themselves. All of Bonaparte Breads products sold at market are produced just hours before.
Heirloom Kitchen Christine Ilich, an accomplished chef who came to Virginia via Manhattan, opened Heirloom Kitchen in 2005. Heirloom Kitchen offers delicious soups, both hot and chilled, all made from seasonal, local ingredients, and produced in small batches in a farmhouse kitchen in Front Royal, VA. Most of the vegetables and herbs come from local farm markets and Heirloom Kitchen’s own garden on the farm. Christine has a way with spices and herbs; one taste of her curried red lentil with cilantro and apricots, or African sweet potato and peanut with ginger, spices and cilantro and you’ll know what we’re talking about! Her chilled soups are equally spectacular and have been selling out, so don’t delay in picking up a pint or two! Soups are packaged in reusable containers and are frozen for freshness and convenience.
Nicecream Factory is where you will find DC’s coolest ice cream option. Not only does Nicecream create the best ice cream around but, you get a show with your tasty frozen treat! Using liquid nitrogen and the freshest local ingredients around, Nicecream gives you creamy delicious goodness. You don’t have to believe us, just come try it for yourself! We’re so excited to have Nicecream Factory at the market for the 2013 season!
Number One Sons is a brother and sister team in Old Town Alexandria who hand make wild fermented foods using traditional methods. Naturally delicious microbes from fermentation, like the good bacteria lactic acid, preserve our foods and give them a delicious, sour and tangy taste. Some of their foods harken to a New York Jewish deli, others to a Korean root cellar. They work to combine regional ingredients with traditional preservation methods and recipes from diverse cultures. Number 1 Sons offer an exciting variety of kimchis, krauts, pickles and more!
Vigilante Coffee Co. has made a big impression on our market-goers in a very short time. Folks line up for Vigilante’s amazing pour-over coffees and espressos, and with good reason. Chris Vigilante and his team grind their beans at market to produce a perfectly fresh cup every time, using locally roasted beans from Chris’ family farm in Hawaii. Vigilante has expanded their offerings to include beans from Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico, and Honduras. Vigilante also sells their award-winning, Ka’u & Kona coffee beans from Pavaraga farms in Hawaii. Pick up a bag at market and they’ll even ground the beans for you then and there if you’d like. But don’t wait long, they almost always sell out!
Whisked! Founded in May 2011, Whisked! is a DC-based bakery that specializes in sweet and savory pies, cookies, and bar cookies. Their passion for baking and commitment to excellence shows in everything they do – from the perfectly flaky, golden brown crusts of their sweet and savory pies, to just the right amount of salt on the salty oatmeal cookies. Everything is made from scratch and uses fresh ingredients to create baked goods that will delight your family and friends, and indulge your sweet tooth. Whisked! is owned and operated by Jenna Huntsberger, a food blogger who left her full-time nonprofit communications job in 2009 to pursue her love of baking.
