December update from Executive Director, Hugo Mogollon
I can’t believe it has already been a month since I sent my first letter as Executive Director of FRESHFARM. This month, I want to give you an update on the merger of FRESHFARM and Community Foodworks. It is hard to know where to start because so much is happening. I could tell you, for example, that there is some tedious but important administrative work going on. You know: figuring out finances, human resources, and governance policies. But that would be a little boring since other more exciting things are starting to happen.
The newly combined farmers market team is quickly finding camaraderie that will take us a long way. We are already planning the markets for the prime season in 2020. You can imagine the amount of coordination that it will take to run 33 farmers markets. Are pickles coming to Uptown? Are more vendors joining Dupont Circle? I guess you will have to wait a little longer to find out!
Our education and food distribution programs are finding natural synergies that could make our future impact exceed our expectations. Just imagine how cool it would be to expand FoodPrints nutrition education from schools to childcare facilities. Now imagine the Pop Up Food Hub delivering food directly from the farmers market to those same places, improving access to fresh food for more than 6,000 children while increasing the revenue for small family farms. Yes! That is exactly how we are feeling. The sky is the limit.
However, the best part of this whole first month has been witnessing so much excitement among partners and supporters of both organizations. As an example, yesterday, we raised nearly $10,000 (including a $4,000 match) as part of Giving Tuesday, surpassing our goal thanks to a record number of people donating in one day. Thank you! We want to keep the momentum going, and we want you to be a part of this journey bringing together FRESHFARM and Community Foodworks. Our impact is yours also. Let’s walk together.
Hugo Mogollon
Executive Director
