Bernadine Prince and Ann Yonkers

WETA Hometown Heroes July 2008. Ann Yonkers and Bernadine Prince are co-directors and co-founders of FRESHFARM Markets, which promotes the benefits of choosing local produce from the Chesapeake Bay area.

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Co-directors and co-founders of FRESHFARM Markets, Bernadine Prince and Ann Yonkers share the spotlight of a month-long WETA Hometown Heroes profile airing in July 2008 on WETA TV 26.

WETA selected Prince and Yonkers for their service promoting the benefits of choosing local produce from the Chesapeake Bay area to people throughout the Washington, D.C. region.

Originally a program in the Public Education Division of American Farmland Trust, FRESHFARM Markets became a self-sufficient, nonprofit organization in 2002. The initial outdoor farmers market opened in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. and there are now eight markets in the Washington metropolitan area.

The markets comprise of 75 regional farmers who must use environmentally friendly farming techniques in order to participate, 175 volunteers and more than 180,000 customers. FRESHFARM Markets offer the community with an experience that supports the organization’s mission “to connect city dwellers with farmers and their locally-grown food, educate the public about food and farming issues and to provide vital economic opportunities for farmers.”

According to Prince and Yonkers, buying local food has positive effects on the environment because it decreases carbon emissions by reducing the amount of pollution exerted by traveling vehicles. In addition, local food is fresher and has a higher nutritional value. Many of the participating farmers – who must live within a two and one-half hour radius of Washington, D.C. – rely on FRESHFARM Markets for financial sustenance. Without the markets, the farmers would be forced to give up their trade.

Prince and Yonkers also believe their markets revitalize stagnant communities by creating new town squares. The markets often feature chefs from a restaurant in the District and while at the market, the chefs prepare recipes that are made with the various ingredients sold there such as haricot verts, gooseberries, feta cheese or buffalo meat. Yonkers states, “FRESHFARM Markets are a human place in the city where people gather to buy local food and can interact with each other, working professionals and farmer-producers.”

Dedicated to helping all parts of the community, Prince and Yonkers make it a priority to help the less fortunate. Since 1997, more than 100 tons of local food from the markets have been donated to charities in the District including D.C. Central Kitchen, Miriam’s Kitchen and the Dinner Program for Homeless Women. To further help the underprivileged, the markets accept WIC coupons (Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infant and Children) and Senior coupons (government-issued coupons for eligible seniors at fresh produce stands).

FRESHFARM Markets also provide a hands-on gardening program in D.C. public schools called FoodPrints, which helps educate students about the benefits of farming and fresh produce. In addition, FRESHFARM Markets partners with other local community organizations such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Community Food Security Coalition and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to educate the Washington metropolitan area about the benefits of locally produced food.

Prince and Yonkers’ strong dedication to helping and educating the Chesapeake Bay area citizens through locally grown food emphasizes their philosophy that being “green” helps communities.

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