Trivia, Treats, and Thai Basil: Brainfood goes to Homegrown DC

What do you get when you combine 5 eggplants, 10 lbs of pole beans, a gallon of blanched sweet potato greens, and dozens of Thai basil bunches? We asked ourselves that very question earlier this month, as a mild panic set in: Our after-school cooking programs hadn’t started back up for the year, and we were filling our fridges and freezers to the gills with fresh produce from the Brainfood Youth Garden. What were we going to do with all those extra veggies?! Thanks to the folks at Neighborhood Farm Initiative, City Blossoms, and Common Good City Farm, we found the answer last weekend: Homegrown DC, a “hyper-local” farmers market where community gardens, urban farms, and youth gardens like ours can show off what they’ve grown and celebrate delicious foods originating right here in the District. This year Homegrown DC was held in tandem with the DC State Fair (read: pie contests, knitting competitions, art booths, even a newborn hat contest).

Brainfood staffers and a few program participants had a blast exploring the State Fair and running the Brainfood booth at Homegrown DC. Participating in this celebration of local food was a powerful reminder of the impact we can make by growing food locally, sharing our bounty with others, and empowering DC residents (in our case youth) with the know-how and confidence to grow, harvest, and cook their own local, healthy meals.

If you missed the big event this year, here are some highlights from our booth along with a few photos we snapped:

• Fresh produce - eggplants, basil, swiss chard, collard greens, padron peppers, sweet potato greens, okra

• Homemade Brainfood treats - greenies (a savory “brownie” with swiss chard greens and mozzarella), Thai pole bean salad, garden herb pizza dough, green tomato cupcakes with cinnamon frosting

• Brainfood Jeopardy - a seriously challenging trivia game where passers by were recruited as competitors, stepping up to prove their knowledge of gardening, cooking, and nutrition. Brainfood participants Mariah, Ay, and Madelyn played the role of Alex Trebek skillfully, and awarded prizes to winning competitors.

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