The Washington D.C.-based organization FRESHFARM is working to strengthen food access, support local farmers, and improve food education in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
The nonprofit runs the third-largest farmers market network in the country as well as a food hub, “which is really all about providing farmers, especially small and mid-sized farmers, an opportunity to get into the wholesale market,” Cat Oakar, FRESHFARM’s Executive Director tells Food Tank. This allows nonprofits the ability to purchase fresh, local produce, “which they’re often shut out of.”
To connect more eaters with healthy food, the organization also operates two extensive food access programs, Produce Plus and FreshMatch, which offer qualifying shoppers additional dollars to spend at farmers markets.
Oakar believes these programs are essential, arguing that there should be more investment and support to help families buy and prepare fresh produce. But, she is seeing the opposite, with federal cuts affecting initiatives like Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed).
The loss of funding is particularly confusing to Oakar when the Trump-Vance Administration is doing so well to bring the link between food and health into national conversations, says Oakar, who previously served as Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Disparities under the Biden-Harris Administration. “They’re succeeding “in a way that, frankly, we…couldn’t do.” But she believes the actions of the federal government represent a contradiction.
“If we really want to make people healthy, investing in the food system, investing in local farmers, investing in programs that have been cut is the way to make a healthier society,” she tells Food Tank. “It’s the way to make a more resilient, stronger food system.”
The idea of building a healthier society is one that FRESHFARM takes seriously. Farmers markets aren’t just connecting people to fresh produce, Oakar explains. They are also “essential community infrastructure” that serve as economic engines and gathering places. “Our farmers markets are something that are so powerful and such a beautiful and necessary part of strong, resilient communities.”
Listen to the full conversation with Cat Oakar on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about Oakar’s transition from the White House to FRESHFARM, the challenges facing local farmers, and how the organization is getting students excited about food systems.
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Photo courtesy of Shelley Pauls, Unsplash
