November update from Executive Director, Hugo Mogollon

I love my job. When I moved to Washington, DC in 2011, I had more questions than answers about the future of my professional career and my life in general. I have worked to understand and protect nature for many years, but when I had the opportunity to study and start working with food in DC, I fell instantaneously in love. As an immigrant, I left so many things behind, and food was something familiar that gave me a sense of safety. I wanted to be surrounded by it.

Every time I go to the farmers market, what I see is exactly that–people rejoicing around food. Whether meeting friends and family, talking with neighbors, or connecting with farmers, the market is a place to find what is familiar and makes us all feel happy.

As I take on this exciting challenge of merging FRESHFARM and Community Foodworks, I feel lucky to work with people committed to safeguarding farmers markets, keeping them profitable, making them inclusive, and helping them stay competitive with other food retail options. In the first few days since the announcement that these two organizations would be merging, we have received an overwhelming amount of support from partners, farmers, shoppers, and community members who are excited about what the future could bring.

That is why I love my job: because it allows me to work and connect with people like you, who understand that food brings out the best of us, who believe that we must keep supporting the hands that grow our food, and who fight to make it possible for everybody to access that food.

We look forward to this new era, and we count on you to take this journey with us.

Hugo Mogollon
Executive Director