Fall 2025 Funder Farm & Market Tour FAQs

This tour offers select funders and donors the opportunity to witness firsthand how FRESHFARM leverages our partnerships between farmers, markets, and communities to strengthen our regional food system.

The tour is an invitation-only experience. You can claim your spot here. Be sure to reserve early as space is limited!

Yes, this tour has limited capacity, so we encourage you to register as soon as possible to secure your spot.

No, there is no cost. This is an exclusive offer for funders and donors in the movement to strengthen our regional food system.

The Fall 2025 Funder Farm & Market Tour will take place on Thursday, October 30 from 9AM to 1:30PM. Please arrive promptly at the FRESHFARM Minnesota Ave. Farm Stand located at 322 40th St NE, Washington, DC 20019. Note: The farm stand will not be set up at arrival time; parking is available at the East River Park Shopping Center. The bus to Hidden Gems Farm will depart at 9:15AM. For more details, check the agenda at the bottom of this page.

At Hidden Gems Farm, husband-and-wife owners Lorenzo and Summiya will share the origin story of their 22-acre farm, which began with a herd of 70 goats, each of a different breed! We’ll learn how FRESHFARM markets have helped their farm thrive and grow, as we are their only economic outlet beyond their farm store.

You can learn more by visiting their website.

At our visit to the FRESHFARM Minnesota Ave. Farm Stand, you’ll see how:

• Our FreshMatch incentive program helps shoppers take home more fresh produce by providing a dollar-for-dollar match on federal benefits spent at market.
• Our innovative farm stand program provides much needed access points to fresh food for communities lacking full-service grocery stores.
• Our monthly Farm Stand & Friends day, a pilot program, helps grow the customer base of farm stands by featuring micro-businesses largely from the surrounding neighborhoods.
• Our Pop-Up Food Hub program provides bags of produce for Market Share CSA customers, including subsidized bags for SNAP users.

You can learn more in our How to Use FreshMatch video. Note that the cap on matches was recently increased from $10 to $30.

You can learn more in our blog post, FRESHFARM’s East of the River Farm Stands are open for the 2025 Season.

You can learn in our blog post, What Is the Pop-Up Food Hub, Anyway?

You can learn on our Market Share page.

Dress comfortably with sturdy shoes as we will be touring a working farm. Sunscreen and hats are recommended.

A delicious lunch prepared by our FoodPrints staff featuring locally-grown ingredients will be provided. If you have any dietary restrictions, please indicate on the registration form.

Yes, the farm has a porta-potty.

There is ample free parking at the East River Park Shopping Center.

The following transit lines have routes that pass near East River Park Shopping Center:

Buses – C21, D2X, C57, C31, C35.

Metro – ORANGE, SILVER, BLUE.

We will have a chartered bus that will take everyone to and from the farm.

Yes, we will hold the tour rain or shine with some modifications.

If you have additional questions, please contact Beth Gunston at bgunston[at]freshfarm[dot]org. She’d be happy to assist you!