The USDA Farmers Market is a "living laboratory," dedicated to providing opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and small businesses to sell their products to those living in and visiting our Nation's capital.

Farmers Market vendors are the heart and soul of the community. We miss ours dearly and know you do too! Check out this week's vendor spotlight!

Douglas W. Woerner, located in Orrtanna, PA, is a family owned orchard that has been in operation since 1945. Through hard work and dedication over the years, the operation has grown from five acres to 125 acres. The orchard offers produce such as strawberries, peaches, apples, sour cherries and more. The large variety of produce enables orchard employees to pick seasonal produce year-round. Douglas W. Woerner has been a vendor at the USDA Farmers Market for three years and the owners have recounted their time there as enjoyable and beneficial. Douglas W. Woerner attributes the orchard’s success to perseverance and tenacity. The owners describe the USDA Farmers Market as a good market with a clean environment and good people. The USDA Farmers Market is grateful for vendors like Douglas W. Woerner and would like to say thank you for all that they do.

Connecting with USDA Farmers Market Vendors

Although the opening of the market is delayed, we would love for you to still have a way to contact your favorite vendors. Here is a link containing that information as well as some markets our vendors are currently servicing: Vendor Information.pdf

Produce of the Week: Watermelon

Did You Know...
A seedless watermelon is created by crossing male pollen for a watermelon with a female watermelon flower. When this seeded fruit matures, the small, white seed coats inside are rendered sterile and incapable of producing seeds. The seedless watermelon will grow and bloom, but the pollen produced on male blooms will not form a viable fruit with the female blooms, so male watermelon seeds must be planted with seedless watermelon seeds to provide pollen. This process does not involve genetic modification.
For more facts and information on Watermelon, check out this week’s:
“Get VegU-cated: The How to Pick, Prepare, and Store series” video.

Click here for the VegU Video

Featured Recipe: Watermelon Caprese

Source: Delish.Com

USDA has a diverse community of employees that contribute to a culturally rich environment. “Community Corner” explores the influences of cultural heritage and tradition through the lens of USDA Farmers Market’s stakeholders, customers, and neighbors.

It’s Apple Picking Season!

While this season during a pandemic might look a little different from past years , orchard owners say it could be one of their most successful seasons yet, due in large part to the draw of being outside. Many local orchards have begun their annual apple picking celebration by welcoming families to join in the fun! It’s a time for family and friends to come together and start new traditions. With cooler temperatures, crisp fall air and shorter days, apple picking is always a fun fall activity. When planning to visit an orchard, try calling ahead to find out what varieties are ready for harvest. Different apple varieties are better for certain dishes than others. A good tip is to pick from outside of the tree, the area where the apple gets the most sunlight. These are usually the sweetest! Below are a few more fun tips!

•  Twist the stem to pick, avoid shaking the branches to prevent fallen bruised apples
• Plan to stay a while and enjoy season al treats like apple cider and caramel apples.
• Pull out your best denim overalls, bring a camera, and make new memories

Also, be sure to keep the fun going at home by testing new recipes with your picked apples or you can stick to your seasonal favorites, like applesauce, pies, and other baked goods! Happy picking!

Each issue The USDA Farmers Market will share stories of how individuals have been impacted by the market. Stories can be submitted to: Toiayna.Thompson@usda.gov

Campaign Season: Feds Feed Families

Now that the Combined Federal Campaign season is about to kick off, it’s a great time to highlight one of our very own USDA initiatives, the Feds Feed Families (FFF) campaign. June 2020 marked the 11th anniversary of the FFF campaign and the first year recognized as a national food bank. The FFF campaign encourages employees from all federal departments and agencies to give in-kind contributions, such as food, services, and time, to food banks and pantries. This year the focus was virtual food drives and online donations. Since launching 11 years ago, the campaign has donated over 92 million pounds of food. There are several ways to get started in your own community, such as planting extra fruits and vegetables in your own garden to donate, setting up your own virtual food drive, or simply finding your local hub to volunteer at the food bank! You can visit their new website to determine just how you can get involved. https://fedsfeedfamilies.ocio.usda.gov/

Do you have a bunch of apples at home that you need to consume? How about learning how to make applesauce with just apples and water from Team Nutrition Cooks!? Team Nutrition Cooks! is a series of cooking-based nutrition activities for out-of-school and afterschool programs, for children around ages 8 to 12 years old, developed by the US Department of Agriculture’s Team Nutrition Initiative. This video covers cooking skills such as peeling, coring, dicing, measuring and simmering as two children, with the help of an adult instructor, prepare a familiar favorite that only requires two ingredients. For more information about Team Nutrition Cooks! visit: https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/cooks.

Video - Team Nutrition Cooks Applesauce 

Recipe & Instructions

Due to the COVID-19 National Emergency, the opening of the USDA Farmers Market is pending. We will provide updates as we receive guidance.