Oct. 15, 2002

Serving Up Freshness

Students Organize First Farmers Market, Open for Business Oct. 23

By Thomas Kohout

Just in time for the height of the harvest season, GW students will have a cornucopia of fresh produce, baked goods, and handicrafts available to them just steps from their doors, all thanks to the efforts of senior Josh Singer and an unplanned trip to a New York City farmers market.

While visiting relatives over spring break last year, Singer stumbled upon a market just blocks from his cousin’s apartment.

“I thought, ‘Wow this is really cool,’ ” recalls Singer, a suburban kid from Boca Raton, FL, where the farmers market concept is far from commonplace. “They had all of these great fruits and vegetables, and all this other crazy stuff right in the middle of the city. It was really impressive. It took up a whole block, and vendors showed up, they set it up, and then they left.”

Marveling at the volume, variety, and overall quality available to market-goers, Singer’s thoughts turned to his erstwhile Washington, DC, home which he believes is under-served by grocery stores and produce markets. At that moment the seeds of the GW farmers market, and the concept of “Building Community Through Food” began to sprout.

“When I came back to GW I started thinking, ‘Why don’t we have anything like that?’” says Singer.

The Columbian College student, who served as president of the Student Body Senate in 2001–02 and as vice president for judicial and legislative affairs on the Senate in 2000–01, turned first to his former colleagues on the Student Association, the Residence Hall Association, and other groups from across campus for support and assistance. Singer received a budget of $1,000 from the Senate, as well as a lot of enthusiastic helpers. Over the summer they met several times to determine what types of items they would like, how they would like to see the market run, and explore the many area markets that dot the DC metro region. Singer says he scouted their policies and procedures — basically how one actually starts a farmers market.

“I visited markets — Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Eastern Market — and I walked around filling a satchel case of information, just walking around talking to farmers and vendors,” says Singer.

From that research Singer and his troupe developed a comprehensive handbook for the potential market, setting rates and regulations for everything from hours of operation and signage to space reservations and restroom access. The elements that dominated were product quality, product price, and an affordable rate for vendor space.

“I want to make this as attractive for them as possible,” explains Singer. “I want them to sell as much as they can, and I want them to come back, which is why I have had such an amazing response from every market I’ve been to.”

With the basics worked out, Singer turned to the University for advice and support. He wrote a letter to President Trachtenberg detailing his plan for the market and received backing of the President’s Office.

“This is really a testament to the enterprising, entrepreneurial spirit of GW’s students,” says President Trachtenberg. “Who would have thought to bring a farmer’s market to a college campus? But this is exactly the kind of community-building activity I had in mind when we were drawing up plans for Kogan Plaza and the Mid-Campus Quad.”

Trachtenberg quickly adds, “I just hope Josh can find someone who sells reasonably priced antique cigar cutters.”

Singer’s next step was to survey the regulatory requirements of hosting a farmers market. Finding the permit process a muddied field, he quickly turned to the Office of Government, International, and Corporate Affairs.

“I wanted to know what the permit requirements were,” Singer recalls. “I called Richard Sawaya and Bernard Demczuk and I said, ‘Can you guys look into this,’ because I looked at the District government’s Web site and I couldn’t understand any of it.”

It’s justifiable confusion, according to Demczuk, assistant vice president for District of Columbia government affairs. Beyond individual vendor licenses and regulations surrounding food preparation, nobody is sure what permits are required. In fact it wasn’t until Oct. 7 that Singer had all of the necessary permits in hand.

“The fact of the matter is this is such a novel idea — to host a farmers market in the middle of a university — nobody from the Mayor’s Office to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs is sure what permit is necessary, whether a permit is necessary, or even if there is a precedent to follow. I’m not aware of this kind of thing having ever been done in the District before,” says Demczuk.

The GW farmers market will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23, from 10 am–4 pm, just in time for Halloween. A tentative date of Wednesday, Nov. 20 is being considered for a second market.

“We chose Wednesdays because that’s when the largest number of students, faculty, and staff are on campus.” says Singer. “We want to sell quality items that students can enjoy, but our demographic is not just students, it’s faculty, it’s staff, and it’s neighbors. The goal is provide a service that has never been offered before.”

 

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu