Locally-grown: Farmer Highlights

As the harvest season comes to a close, we want to highlight a few of the local Montgomery County farms that donate surplus fresh produce and participate in the County Farm to Food Bank program, providing fresh, healthy, delicious produce to the many food assistance providers in our network. One of those farms is Chicken of the Woods Permaculture Farm (COTW) in Darnestown, MD. The name is a nod to the wild, edible mushroom, Laetiporus sulphureus. Bridgette Downer, who runs the farm, uses the land and natural biodiversity to her advantage.

MoCo Master Gardeners glean at Chicken of the Woods

COTW follows the  standards required for Regenerative Organic Certification, which focus on regenerating soil health and the full farm ecosystem. Making permaculture ethics central to her mission, Bridgette uses organic practices and native conservation landscaping. Her products focus on seasonal vegetables, including indigenous sustenance crops and yummy sweet potatoes. Her sweet potato greens are a customer favorite.

Bridgette has also partnered with Manna’s Community Food Rescue program to host gleans at her farm. This past July, thanks to Montgomery County Master Gardeners, their volunteers assisted Bridgette in gleaning 191 pounds of produce, which consisted of zucchini, squash, gourds, cucumbers, pole beans, green onions, Swiss chard, kale, Malabar spinach, and sweet potato greens.

Another farm that frequently hosts gleans is Red Wiggler Community Farm. Red Wiggler refers to the worms that work hard to create fertile soil so that plants have a better chance at thriving. Founded in 1996 by Woody Woodruff, the non-profit farm employs adults with developmental disabilities, who grow food for the community. Located in Germantown, MD, the farm has a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with 120 members and distributes 50% of its organic produce to low-income households. Since the beginning of 2022, the farm has donated 2,107 pounds, the equivalent of 1,756 meals, through CFR to various food assistance providers in Montgomery County, such as Rainbow Community Development Center, Women Who Care Ministries, and Shepherd’s Table.

Packing gleaned fresh produce from Red Wiggler for distribution through CFR’s to food assistance providers.

Red Wiggler hosts a variety of farm tours, virtual and in-person, as well as sensory exploration tours and service-learning visits. This past summer and fall they hosted a handful of gleans, and in CSA Coordinator Rachel Armistead’s words, “We’ve diverted a lot of food [that would otherwise have been composted] because of it this year.” During four separate events, volunteers helped glean 344 pounds of kale, collards, tatsoi, and sweet potato greens.

A bit farther up-county in Dickerson, MD, is a beautiful and sprawling 30-acre farm called Amaranth Acres. Owned and operated by Indhu Balasubramaniam, the farm grows both ethnic and native vegetables using sustainable and organic farming practices. They avoid the use of pesticides and chemicals, and use hay to keep the beds healthy and growing. Many of the vegetables that Indhu sells through the Farm to Food Bank program are those that are common in Indian and South Asian cultures, such as bitter gourd and hyacinth beans. One of her goals is to grow organic ethnic Indian vegetables and make them accessible to a broader population.

High tunnels provide a suitable growing space for year-round farming at Amaranth Acres.

She also offers pasture-raised eggs, which means the hens and ducks on the farm roam freely, scratch in the dirt and enjoy the sun. This way of life leads to better texture and color in the eggs that are produced. If you decide to take the scenic drive up to the farm, make sure to keep an eye out for Zuko, the playful and protective German Shepherd that belongs to the family!

Manna’s Community Food Rescue program is so grateful to all the farmers who participate in the County Farm to Foodbank program. We look forward to next year’s growing season.