It’s a beautiful day for music and outdoor yoga! Let your neighbors know.
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For the Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market this Friday, UDC will have both a free beginners yoga session in the shaded agroforest area of the Food Hub and Radio One (93.9 WKYS) with live entertainment and giveaways. Let your neighbors know!
UDC Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market
Date: July 24, 2026, 4pm-8pm
Location: UDC, 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE (access via parking lot on Galloway Street NE)
4pm-6pm: WKYS 93.9 live entertainment and giveaways
6:30pm-7:30pm: Free community yoga, all ages, beginner friendly
For the Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market this Friday, UDC will have both a free beginners yoga session in the shaded agroforest area of the Food Hub and Radio One (93.9 WKYS) with live entertainment and giveaways. Let your neighbors know!
UDC Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market
Date: July 24, 2026, 4pm-8pm
Location: UDC, 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE (access via parking lot on Galloway Street NE)
4pm-6pm: WKYS 93.9 live entertainment and giveaways
6:30pm-7:30pm: Free community yoga, all ages, beginner friendly
Youth ages 6–18 discover the journey from urban farm to table — learning nutrition, sustainability, and real cooking skills along the way.
Does your child enjoy gardening, healthy foods, or hands-on activities? Join UDC-CAUSES at the Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market and Urban Food Hub to explore the world of herbs through interactive monthly workshops, located at the UDC Lamond-Riggs Campus parking lot at 5171 South Dakota Ave NE, Washington, D.C.
What Your Child Will Experience:
Explore edible herbs growing at the Lamond-Riggs Urban Food Hub and learn how they’re harvested. No experience needed.
Develop basic cooking skills, including reading recipes, measuring ingredients, and preparing simple, healthy snacks.
Learn about nutrition and urban agriculture in a hands-on, beginner-friendly setting.
Event Details:
Designed for Ages 6–18
FREE to Attend
Outdoor Event
Beginner-Friendly Experiences
Workshop Dates:
June 26: All about Herbs & Pesto
July 17: Garden Lemonade
August 14: Micro-Greens Salad
Available Time Slots:
4:30 – 5:10 PM
5:30 – 6:10 PM
6:30 – 7:10 PM
Give your child the opportunity to dig, discover, and taste fresh flavors from the garden while learning skills they can use at home!
For more information, contact causes@udc.edu or 202-274-7124.
UDC College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environment Science (CAUSES) kicked off the farmers market season at the Lamond-Riggs campus on April 3. It will take place very Friday 4pm-8pm at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE. The market is part of the college’s urban food hub concept at the campus.
There are a few opportunities for residents to get more involved with CAUSES. A couple of highlights:
AgPod Volunteering
Every Friday from 2-5pm o Harvest produce from vertical farm container
Location: Lamond-Riggs Food Hub o 5171 South Dakota Ave NE
Contact: Andy Blunk, andrew.blunk@udc.edu
Participate on the CAUSES Ward Advisory Council
The advisory council for Ward 4 and Ward 5 has space for additional members (2 for Ward 4 and 3 for Ward 5).
The goals of the Ward Advisory Councils are to facilitate communication and collaboration with Ward-specific stakeholders, gain understanding of community needs, and provide guidance on CAUSES program offerings.
UDC College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences proudly presents the return of the Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market at UDC Community College campus where fresh produce, artisan goods, live entertainment, and community connection come together.
Season Opens April 3, 2026 at UDC Lamond-Riggs Campus, 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE, in the large parking lot.
UDC College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences proudly presents the return of the Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market at UDC Community College campus where fresh produce, artisan goods, live entertainment, and community connection.
Farmers Market—where fresh produce, artisan goods, live entertainment, and community connection come together every Friday from 4 pm – 8 pm.
There are two weeks left of UDC’s inaugural Lamond-Riggs farmers market season. The last day for the market will be November 21, 2025.
Check it out today and next Friday 4pm-8pm at UDC’s Lamond-Riggs campus, located at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE (in the parking lot off Galloway Street NE).
On November 7, 2025, the market team, led by Dr. Tsakani Ngomane at UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, & Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), held a nice celebration to mark what the university is calling a pilot market. Residents enjoyed live cello music; tasty nutritious food samples like butternut squash soup; kids activities including face painting and a bounce house; and vendors selling a variety of items from books to produce to sweets.
UDC CAUSES Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market Celebration, November 7, 2025.
The farmers market is just one component of the urban food hub at the Lamond-Riggs campus. On the blog we previously interviewed Dr. Kamran Zendehdel, a former professor and center director at CAUSES, who explained that the food hubs have four components: (1) food production; (2) food preparation; (3) food distribution; and (4) food waste and water recovery (e.g., composting).
UDC CAUSES started building out the food hub in early 2016. It includes a hydroponics facility and native plant nursery. In 2018, Maryam Sabur, then a graduate student in water resource management at CAUSES, stood up the farm stand, which would eventually grow into the market.
This year, the university officially opened the food hub’s demonstration commercial kitchen, which serves as a business incubator where individuals can learn about nutrition, get required food business certifications, and learn all aspects of the food business from trained chefs.
Demonstration kitchen at UDC Lamond-Riggs Food Hub
Entrepreneurship is a big component of the food hub concept. The idea is to grow the number of urban farmers in the city. Chauna Price, soil manager at the Lamond-Riggs food hub, has a produce stand at the farmers market where she sells produce grown at both the food hub and at the university’s Firebird Farm in Beltsville.
Eightfold Farms by owner J.R. Hines, a vendor at the market, is billed as DC’s first commercial mushroom farm. Mr. Hines received a federal grant with support from UDC CAUSES to support his concept. The business provides CSA dropoffs, supplies mushrooms to local restaurants, and also provides nutrition education/financial literacy to DCPS students.
Jasmine, a local resident at The Modern, sells fresh juice at the market through her business Pressed Essentials.
Vendor JR Hines, owner of EightFold Farms.
Two other residents at The Modern, Sekai Zinatsai and agronomist Chris Mapondera, participate in the food hub’s citizen science project, where they are responsible for growing vegetables from seed in containers designed for small spaces. This season they are growing dozens of containers of collard greens that they can harvest for themselves and also give away to local residents. On a small scale, the citizen science project embodies the concept of the food hub–training in the lifecycle of food from seed to market.
UDC Professor Che AxumCitizen scientist & local resident Sekai Zinatsai
The food hub really is a remarkable production, and it is pretty neat having something like this in the neighborhood. Over the years, I have wandered around the food hub talking to people like Kyra Moore and Michael Whyte, who have managed aspects of the food hub and were happy to talk about what was going on. Stay tuned for opportunities to tour and learn more about the food hub in the future.
Location: UDC Lamond-Riggs Campus, 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE (inside parking lot on Galloway Street NE)
Join UDC CAUSES for their UDC Lamond-Riggs Farmers Market Celebration to celebrate their inaugural market season. Enjoy fresh produce, small business spotlights, live entertainment, face painting, & more!
For more information, contact causesfarmersmarket@udc.edu or (202) 274-7124.
Update 9/20/2025: UDC has added a produce vendor to the market.
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Original post 9/12/2025
Every Friday from 4pm to 8pm, UDC CAUSES hosts a farmers market at UDC’s Lamond-Riggs campus, 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE. Enter parking lot off Galloway Street NE. The market will run through December.
UDC continues to add vendors on a weekly basis. The market has been a nice addition to the neighborhood, providing much needed variety in available food options to the neighborhood. Pick from a small assortment of veggies from the farm stand and also pick up dinner and pastries for the family from one of several food vendors.
Please continue supporting the market and let your neighbors know about it. Every Friday 4pm-8pm through December.
Every Friday from 4pm to 8pm, UDC CAUSES hosts a farmers market at UDC’s Lamond-Riggs campus, 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE. Enter parking lot off Galloway Street NE.
UDC is still accepting vendors for the market. If you are interested in vending, complete UDC’s Farmers Market Vendor Interest Form. For more info, contact the Farmers Market Manager Andy Blunk at andrew.blunk@udc.edu or call 202-274-7124.
For the first market on August 15, UDC had three food vendors along with a small produce stand. There was a nice turnout for the first market. I arrived at the market around 5:30ish. Some of the produce like tomatoes had already sold out. Chauna Price, the soil manager at UDC’s Lamond-Riggs urban food hub who oversees the stand, said that they hope to increase the produce offerings in the coming weeks.
The food vendors were pretty good, selling a variety of food like Peruvian dumplings and fried rice by Misky Wasy, empanadas and pastries by Sweet & Salty Bakery, and Colombian fruity treats by Fruity Side. It is nice to be able to pick up some eats and then walk across the street for the weekly Fridays at Fort Totten concert series at 6 pm.
Join your neighbors and support the new neighborhood farmers market at UDC Lamond-Riggs campus every Friday 4pm-8pm through December.
UDC-CAUSES’ Center for Urban Agriculture and Gardening Education (CUAGE) and Center for Urban Resilience, Innovation and Infrastructure (CURII) expand their reach by connecting consumers to fresh seasonal produce and goods and promoting healthier lifestyles for D.C. residents. Together, these two centers will lead the newest edition to the College’s roster of farmers’ markets at the UDC Community College. The new farmers’ market will be located in the parking lot next to the urban food hub on the Lamond Riggs campus. Come out and enjoy locally grown fruits and vegetables, freshly baked goods, world cuisines, and handcrafted arts and crafts every Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more info, contact the Farmers Market Manager Andy Blunk at andrew.blunk@udc.edu or call 202-274-7124. If you are interested in vending at one of our farmers markets, click here to let us know.
UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, & Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) is seeking volunteers for its neighborhood food hubs and Beltsville farm. UDC CAUSES maintains a food hub at the Lamond-Riggs campus at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE (off Galloway Street). For more information, email the volunteer coordinator at Michele.Bassler@udc.edu.
UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) invites neighbors to a Community Open House.
October 27, 2023 1:00 pm-4:00 pm UDC Lamond-Riggs Campus/Urban Food Hub 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE
Community-based organizations, local agencies, and residents are invited to explore CAUSES urban research projects, academic degrees and certifications, and land-grant opportunities.
Take a tour of the Lamond-Riggs Urban Farm & learn about volunteer opportunities.
UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) invites neighbors to a Community Open House.
October 27, 2023 1:00 pm-4:00 pm UDC Lamond-Riggs Campus/Urban Food Hub 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE
Community-based organizations, local agencies, and residents are invited to explore CAUSES urban research projects, academic degrees and certifications, and land-grant opportunities.
Take a tour of the Lamond-Riggs Urban Farm & learn about volunteer opportunities.
I was informed yesterday evening that there will not be a Bertie Backus farm stand tomorrow August 27, 2022. UDC intended to reopen the stand tomorrow but their produce vendor fell through. I am getting mixed messages about whether the farm stand will return at all this season, but I do have confirmation that there will definitely not be a farm stand tomorrow. Should know more next week about plans for the rest of the season.
Ed. Note: The message below is from Stefan Templeton, Senior Market Manager for the Van Nesss Farmers Market & Bertie Backus Farm Stand. The application form linked in the message below references April 2022 Van Ness Market deadlines and fees. Interested vendors for the Bertie Backus Farm Stand should still complete the application form. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Questions may be directed to vannessfarmersmarket@udc.edu.
By R. Stefan Templeton
Firstly, on behalf of UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), I would like to apologize for the cancellation of the Bertie Backus Farmers Market on the past two Saturdays, July 30 and August 6. Frankly, we have been searching for a reliable produce vendor to commit to servicing the market after 11th-hour cancellations by produce vendors.
We are very pleased to announce that Gray Lane Farms, a local woman & minority-owned farm has committed to maintaining the produce stand starting August 27 going forward until November 26. I should note that Gray Lane has been certified as a Produce Plus provider and will be able to accept DC’s Produce Plus cards.
We humbly request that community members come out to support our endeavor to bring quality produce and local vendors every Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at UDC’s BertieBackus campus located at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20017 (near the Fort Totten Metro station on the Red, Yellow, and Green lines).
In the interim period of the next 2 weeks, we will be working to collaborate with community members to better market this reopening. We have reached out to the local ANC members and hope to promote this opportunity to all comers.
Please note that any community members who are interested in becoming vendors, may complete the application here. We are actively recruiting vendors for the remainder of this season and for the next season of 2023. Please feel free to email me any questions or comments. We look forward to seeing you at the market.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 