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UDC Van Ness Farmers Market

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The UDC Van Ness Farmers Market is located at 4200 Connecticut Ave NW, in front of the UDC Student Center

The UDC Van Ness Farmers Market is run by the Center for Sustainable Development and Resilience (CSDR), College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES). The market, in collaboration with Van Ness Main Street and the National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association, offers fresh and local produce to DC residents. Vendors include farmers, producers, growers, bakers and artisans from DC, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

A UDC student intern manages market operations, works with vendors and supports shoppers. Market events and resources will be shared on this website. In addition, the market manager, who is a UDC nutrition and dietetics student, will provide cooking, nutrition and food safety information to market patrons.

The UDC Van Ness Farmers Market is open on Saturdays, April 27th, 2024 through November 16th, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The market is operated in front of the UDC Student Center, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW, at Veazey Terrace.

WEEKLY VENDOR FEATURE | MELISSA COOPERMAN, OWNER OF PILODC (pronounced "pillow")

Melissa Cooperman is the owner of PiloDC @PiloDC202, currently offering handmade, reusable/washable PPE in the form of facial masks, soon to carry pillows and other sewn crafts. Ms. Cooperman lives a few blocks away from the Market. “I am a local woman-run business based in DC and sew each piece,” she says. She participated in a pop-up last year and decided this year that she wanted to offer her business as a more permanent feature.

Ms. Cooperman is a photographer and filmmaker by trade and sought to expand her art into other mediums with fabric. About this expansion, she explains “I learned to sew at a Fab Lab library in DC @FabLabDC http://fablabdc.org and just enjoyed the process so much I wanted to combine my photos and art with sewing. My current mission is to use this new need for masks as a canvas and bring some beauty into this challenging situation.”

All fabrics are high-end, made from cotton and/or silk, no synthetics here. Some fabrics are sourced from Africa and from a local store @ThreeLittleBirdsSewingCo. A percentage of PiloDC sales goes to the woman owned farm “Growing Life Farm” in Senegal. This money goes to support the Farm’s efforts during these challenging times. Farmers markets in Africa have been closed for vendors or are greatly impacted by COVID-19, so these mask sales are a small way to help the Farm’s current situation https://www.facebook.com/Growing-life-Farm-2235605420095176/.

Ms. Cooperman has had a few days where she has sold out of her masks and simply collected preorders for the rest of the day. Her fabrics are fun and unique and allow for self-expression during the pandemic and beyond.

Ms. Cooperman not only supports the longevity of The Growing Life Farm but also is a frequent shopper at the Market. She makes sure she has ample stock of Honduran coffee beans from her neighbor Café Medrano @cafemedrano, and on the other side of her returning used coffee grounds with Compost Cab @dczerowaste https://zerowaste.dc.gov/foodwastedropoff. About those beans, she says “Drinking their coffee every morning keeps me going while sewing all these masks, and then I bring my grounds to Compost Cab, so it’s a nice life cycle in this corner of the Market.”

PiloDC accepts credit and cash.