Our Story
Building a Better Food System
At DC Greens, we believe healthy food is a human right. We also believe all the things embedded in food — community, culture, memory, self-sufficiency, joy — are human rights, too. Through thought-partnership, creativity, and collaboration, we work alongside D.C. residents, community advocates, nonprofit organizations, and the local government to create a stronger, better food system in our city.
Recognized as a leader in food access both in D.C. and nationally, DC Greens’ mission is to advance health equity by building a just and resilient food system. We are committed to ensuring that everyone in our city can live a healthier life through better food access. Our award-winning programs help shape policies and partnerships that make fresh food available across the nation’s capital, like our produce prescription program, Produce Rx, and our community farm and wellness space, The Well at Oxon Run. And our Community Engagement methods, which keep community voice at the center of our programs and practices, have been used as models by food access organizations across the city. By focusing our efforts in the three key areas of food access, Food Is Medicine interventions, and health equity, we develop programs that help people get the fresh, nutritious food they desire while also advocating for systems-level changes to our food system.
Our vision is a capital city in which health equity is a central value, healthy food is a human right, and all residents have the resources to shape and control policies and programs for their own communities.
Our Approach
Our organization is committed to making change that lasts. This means that we don’t aim to be the bridge, we aim to build the bridge. We do this by piloting and incubating innovative programs that have the potential to permanently improve access to quality, nutritious food in the District. DC Greens’ approach is to do the hard, upfront work of making an innovative, creative program sustainable and scalable. Once that program becomes self-sufficient, we find a way to “graduate” it to independence, making it a permanent part of the local food system and ensuring that change lasts long after our work is complete.
Awards & Recognitions
DC Greens’ farm, The Well at Oxon Run, receives The District Sustainability Award, which highlights businesses, individuals, and organizations in the community that are working towards a more sustainable D.C.
DC Greens is named a “Critical Nonprofit” by Spur Local (formerly Catalogue for Philanthropy), a designation given to organizations that are highly trusted in the Greater Washington region.
DC Greens’ Produce Rx program receives the John Benjamin Nichols Award, which recognizes organizations and individuals who have made exceptional contributions toward advancing community health.
DC Greens’ The Well at Oxon Run is designated as a People’s Garden by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), which is awarded to growing spaces that benefit the community, incorporate sustainable practices, and educate the public.
DC Greens receives the Community Partner Hunger Leadership Award from the Congressional Hunger Center, which fights hunger by developing leaders and advocating for public policies that will create a food secure world.
DC Greens receives Milan Pact Award, which recognizes and celebrates the most innovative and impactful initiatives that contribute to the development of sustainable, inclusive, safe, and resilient urban food systems.
DC Greens’ Produce Rx program is recognized by Edible DC as the best food access program in the city.
Our Core Values
Creativity
A measure of creativity is necessary to find new solutions to old problems.
Collaboration
We value collaboration over competition and enter every relationship looking for common ground.
Equity
Our work can play a role in dismantling structural oppression. We value the perspectives and experiences of all people and respect all forms of knowledge.
Integrity
Change happens at the pace of trust and we must work diligently to earn and maintain trust in every relationship.
Sustainability
Large-scale system change can only occur with sustainable solutions.
Our Executive Director
Eric Angel began leading DC Greens as Executive Director in 2024 and brings decades of experience in law, policy, anti-poverty, and civil rights work to the role. His career has focused on expanding access to justice and advancing racial equity, both inside government and the public interest world. Prior to joining DC Greens, Angel held leadership roles at Legal Aid DC and served in the White House Counsel’s Office and the U.S. Department of Labor. Angel is a committed advocate for systemic change.
DC Greens founders Lauren Shweder Biel and Sarah Holway.
Founding & Early History
DC Greens was founded in 2009 by Lauren Shweder Biel and Sarah Holway, two D.C. residents committed to improving food access and education in the city. Shweder Biel started a farmer’s market in her neighborhood to create a welcoming space for families, especially young children, to connect with fresh food. As she organized the market, she met farmers and market managers struggling to make their food accessible to all D.C. residents. At the same time, Holway, an elementary school teacher, helped students plant, grow, and cook fresh food, recognizing school gardens as powerful learning spaces. However, she saw that teachers lacked the resources to sustain them. Holway realized that for school gardens to thrive, they needed long-term support and dedicated staff.
Shweder Biel and Holway met through their shared work in food access and education and saw an opportunity to build something bigger: an organization that could unite food programs across the city. With this vision, they founded DC Greens. In its early years, DC Greens launched farmer’s market access programs, school garden initiatives, and community partnerships to expand fresh food availability and provide teachers with tools for garden education. As the organization grew, we shifted our focus to systemic change, becoming a key player in the movement for food and health equity in Washington, D.C. today.
