Peppers at market. Photo courtesy of FRESHFARM Markets.

When I tell people I write about farmers markets in the D.C. area, their first question is often "So which is the best one?" My answer? "It depends."

Some prefer small, intimate markets and others like bustling food hubs. One market may appeal to a shopper because it has that farmstead goat cheese he adores; another may attract because folks can linger and catch up with neighbors; yet another may suit a patron who likes to grab ingredients on her lunch break.

In honor of National Farmers Market Week, which takes place August 2 to 8, 2009, I will post a series of market profiles to help curious shoppers decide for themselves.

Stay tuned to this page for more profiles, recipes, and other good stuff.

Profile #3: The Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market

(Go straight to the slide show)

The Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market, established in 1997, has become Sunday staple for D.C. foodies. On an average week, the market serves an estimated 5,000 customers.

The market runs year-round and at the peak of the growing season boasts 40 vendors, who fill the parking lot adjacent to the PNC Bank and overflow onto 20th Street. Patrons clamor for the farm-fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, plants, cut flowers, and grass-fed meats, all from the farmers who raise them. Shoppers also come for the locally-made bread, pasta, and gelato.

Weekly Chef at Market demonstrations help the clientele put their purchases to good use.

For anyone who can’t wait to sample local treats, several vendors offer on-the-spot snacks like empanadas, soups, tarts, and crab cakes.

The Dupont market goes even deeper than the products on offer, says market founder and FRESHFARM Co-director Ann Yonkers. Like so many parts of Washington, this scene has a political angle. “Among our market customers are the people in D.C. who are actually making decisions about food policy and health and food safety and regional planning and energy,” Yonkers said. When they drop by the market, they can see a living example of a sustainable food web. “If somebody is looking for alternatives [to the current food system], they can see it,” said Yonkers. “This is something that’s already happening.”

Several vendors at the market accept Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons.

Yonkers calls Dupont a “flagship market.” This seems appropriate for a market that, for more than a decade, has influenced the way Washingtonians eat and shown them where their food comes from.

Market history:
Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market was the first FRESHFARM endeavor. It opened in 1997 as one of the first producer-only farmers markets in the area. Seven other FRESHFARM markets followed, but Dupont remains its largest. 

Stand-out fact:
When the market vendors pack up for the day, D.C. Central Kitchen opens its doors. Van doors, that is. Each week, a member of this community kitchen picks up hundreds of pounds of surplus produce from farmers who gladly donate them rather than haul the stuff back home. DCCK turns the food into meals distributed around the D.C. area and hands-on practice for students in its culinary job training program. In 2008, the market gave DCCK more than three tons of food.

Secret ingredient:
The newest addition to the Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market is grain from Moutoux Orchard. For locavores attempting a 100-mile diet, grains seem impossible to come by. No more! Rob Moutoux offers a variety of Loudon County-grown wheat, rye, barley, and spelt flours. The grains are grown without pesticides or artificial fertilizers and milled locally.

Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market
1500 block of 20th St., between Massachusetts Avenue and Q Street NW
Washington, D.C.

2009-10 season:

Sundays from April 5 to December 27, 2009--9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sundays from January 3 to March 28, 2010--10 a.m. to 1 p.m.