Wheatless by Willow: Providing nutritious gluten-free baked goods at Dupont Circle Farmers’ Market

Julie Mounts, one of Wheatless by Willow’s partners

“The [corn] fritters are delicious,” said Nora Pouillon, the owner of the prominent Restaurant Nora in DC, who personally expressed her compliment and hugged Julie Mounts, one of the partners who manage Wheatless by Willow. Meanwhile, customers continuously formed a line in front of the tent to purchase breads, scones, cakes, and more. Some curious onlookers stopped to observe Tracy O’Grady and Kate Jensen, Mounts’s partners and the co-owners of Willow, cooking sweet corn fritters and corn dogs.

Good soups and a good book are the inspiration behind Soupergirl

Sara Polon and Marilyn Polon, founders of Soupergirl Photo Courtesy: Sara Polon

There’s a famous phrase: “Behind every great man there’s a great woman.” But the quote also applies to Sara Polon, whose mother, Marilyn, has been an important driving force in the creation of Soupergirl, a popular soup and salad business that serves customers in the DC area.

BusFarm/Farm to Family: Connecting Urban Communities to Local Fare

Mark Lilly of FarmBus/Farm to Family at the Farmers’ Line at Eastern Market

“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” Mark Lilly says of his route from being an unemployed military veteran to the head of BusFarm/Farm to Family, a flourishing urban agriculture nonprofit serving DC and Virginia.

Lilly’s journey began in 2009, when he was studying disaster science and emergency management in graduate school at the University of Richmond and learned that the current food system was toxic and unsustainable. Five years later, Lilly’s FarmBus — a retrofitted school bus — now serves as a vehicle for both transporting fresh local food and getting the community engaged in sustainable agriculture.

Green Hope Smoothie Brings Fiber-Rich and Locally-Sourced Superfoods to D.C.

Abu Sesay (L) and Emir Frisby (R), founders of Green Hope Smoothie

It all started when Emir Frisby witnessed his mother consume lots of spinach-based juices and smoothies to help her recover from Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury, a physical instability that affects the knee. Frisby, who has been a botanical science enthusiast and harbored much curiosity about growing his own products, was awed by how the blended food revived his mother’s health. The experience inspired him to research and experiment with ingredients that would go nicely with spinach. Then, Frisby teamed up with Abu Sesay, a personal trainer, two and a half years ago and launched Green Hope Smoothie Co.

Number 1 Sons ferments the whole farm

Kimchi, kale-chi, and masala cider beets at Number 1 Sons’ Union Market pop-up shop

 

The tubs lining the counter at the Number 1 Sons pop-up at Union Market are filled with colorful produce from farms  in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. But these aren’t your average freshly-picked vegetables — they’ve spent a few days fermenting in barrels of water, salt and spices. The result? Everything from masala cider beets to kale-chi to kicky koshers — in short, not your average pickles, either.