A farmers market at Kelly Miller Middle School in Washington, D.C., was a stop on the APHA food tour.
Photo by Sophia Meador
Food insecurity affects 1 in 7 children in Washington, D.C. In the city of nearly 700,000, that translates to about 17,000 children who are unable to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis, many of whom are children of color.
But thanks to a number of nonprofit organizations, inroads are being made in combating the problem. Among those are Dreaming Out Loud and City Blossoms, which run a two-acre farm at the city's Kelly Miller Middle School. Besides selling produce from the farm to local residents, the groups host a farmers market in a neighborhood that has limited options for fresh food.
The market was the first stop during a tour hosted by APHA's Food and Environment Working Group during APHA's 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo in November. Each year the group — which is a collaboration between APHA's Environment and Food and Nutrition Sections — organizes food tours at APHA's Annual Meeting to highlight local food systems.
This year's event, co-facilitated by the Longer Tables Fund and the Global Food Institute at the George Washington University, spotlighted community-driven efforts to create a more just and sustainable food system. That includes the farmers market, which is located in an area of the city referred to as “east of the river.” Located far from the part of the capital city that most visitors see by the Anacostia River, the neighborhood is home predominantly to lower-income Black residents.
“Geographically, that part of the city has always been kind of separated from the part of the city that people think of as the seat of government — all of the monuments and all of the things that people think of as Washington, D.C.,” APHA member Renee Catacalos, who led the tour, told The Nation's Health.
The neighborhood has historically been disinvested compared to other neighborhoods across D.C. Wards 7 and 8, both of which are east of the river, are home to about 160,000 residents. But only three grocery stores serve the entire area. In contrast, most other D.C. wards have eight or nine.
APHA member Ayishat Yussuf, a senior at Spelman College who participated in the Annual Meeting event, said the tour reflected common experiences among Black Americans, who are disproportionately affected by food insecurity and its related health outcomes.
Farmers markets are a good way to generate community and are a staple of D.C. food culture, said Catacalos, director of strategic investments at Freshfarm, a nonprofit organization that operates 26 markets and farm stands across the D.C. metro area.
The city depends largely on produce grown outside of D.C., and organizations such as Freshfarm help make it possible for people to access fresh foods through dozens of local farmers markets, Catacalos said.
The Annual Meeting tour included a stop at DC Central Kitchen, a local nonprofit organization in the city that combats hunger and poverty through job training and creation.
“Poverty causes hunger, not food,” said Alex Moore, the organization's chief development officer.
DC Central Kitchen prepares up to 5,000 nutritious meals daily for shelters, nonprofit groups and youth programs across the city. The organization also delivers meals to seniors and veterans, stocks school-based food pantries, and supplies healthy groceries in underserved neighborhoods.
Tour-goer Kimberly Schneider, RN, a public health nurse with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said the tour's themes resonated with her work. A child's nutritional status can significantly affect how the body absorbs and eliminates lead, Schneider told The Nation's Health.
“I'm very interested...to take some of that back and hopefully integrate some of this into our communities,” said Schneider, who is an APHA member.
For more information, visit https://dreamingoutloud.org, https://dccentralkitchen.org and www.freshfarm.org.
A version of this story was published on APHA's Annual Meeting Wire.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
