You have to hand it to Bernie Prince, Ann Yonkers and the rest of the team at FreshFarm Markets.  No sooner do they join the ranks of the Twitterati than they hit us with a bombshell:

FreshFarmTweet

That’s right…all that speculation and investigatory journalism over the past few weeks was right on the money!

As you might expect, news of this magnitude was immediately echoed by at least seven or eight of our DC food-writer friends.  But we noticed that the official press release (linked through the image above) was missing something – the names of the vendors who would be at the market next Thursday when the “FreshFarm Market, by the White House” opens for the first time.

We reached out to Bernie Prince and she gave us all the exciting details.  Like other FreshFarm Markets, this will be a producers-only market, featuring eighteen familiar vendors on opening day.  As Bernie explained, “We want this to be a market where shoppers can get everything in one place – from milk and meat to bread and vegetables.”

MiriamsShe also pointed out two more aspects of the market that make it an engaged partner with the local community.  As at their Silver Spring and H Street Markets, the FreshFarm Market, by the White House, will offer a “Double Dollars” program that will match the first $25 in Food Stamps, WIC and Senior Nutrition Dollars spent at the market.  The program is funded through grants and private donations.  Additionally, the market will work with Miriam’s Kitchen as a “gleaning partner” to provide fresh food for their outreach efforts to the hungry and homeless of DC.

The news you’ve been waiting for – the 19 producers who will be selling on Vermont Avenue – after the jump.

logo_bigAs relayed to us by Bernie Prince, the vendors at the FreshFarm Market, by the White House, are as follows:

Bakers:
Bread Ovens at Quail Creek Farm (breads and baked goods plus seasonal soups, all use locally sourced ingredients)
Praline Bakery (also locally sourced ingredients)

Meats:
Gunpowder Bison
Cedarbrook Farm (organic, heritage-breed pork and eggs)
Groff’s Content (pasture-raised lamb, chicken, beef and eggs)

Seafood:
Chris’ Marketplace (crabcakes made with crab from MD’s Eastern Shore)

Cheeses:
Everona (sheep’s milk)
Keswick (cow’s milk cheeses and yogurt)
Firefly (goat’s milk cheeses)

Dairy:
Clear Spring Creamery (fresh cow’s milk, yogurt and camembert)

Fruit/Vegetables:
Toigo Orchards (fruit, veg, value-added products like salsas, heirloom tomato sauce, fruit preserves)
Spring Valley Farm & Orchard (sustainably grown fruit, veggies)
Blueberry Hill Farm (organic veggies)
Sunnyside Farm & Orchard (sustainably grown fruit and veg)
Farm at Sunnyside (organic fruit/veg and herbs)
Endless Summer Harvest (hydroponic-grown lettuces, greens and herbs)

Flowers:
Wollam Gardens

Lavender Products:
Welsh Gardens

Wool, Honey:
Solitude

If you’re a regular at other farmers’ markets around the area, you probably recognize most of these names.  Several of them can even be found at FreshFarm’s Penn Quarter Market, which will continue to run simultaneously with this new market.  We asked Prince about this, and she assured us that all of the vendors who are currently at Penn Quarter will remain there…they’ll just pull double duty at this new market.  “We invited all of our Penn Quarter producers to do both,” she said.  She also hinted that there are a few more vendors who are interested in selling at this market, but FreshFarm wants to see the market in action before determining whether they have additional room.

Although there’s no word yet on official White House involvement or the possibility of produce from the White House garden making an appearance at the market, Prince was very complimentary of White House Chef Sam Kass’s support for the market.  She’s hopeful Chef Kass will pay regular visits for Chef demonstrations and other activities.

FreshFarm Market, by the White House, will open next Thursday (September 17th) and run until October 29th.  Hours are 3 to 7 PM, and the market is located on the 800 block of Vermont Avenue, between H and I Streets, NW.

We’ll see you there!