A new farmers market may open in Green Valley next year.
Documents filed with the county last week outline plans to hold a Friday night market at John Robinson, Jr. Town Square. A showcase cause presented through CARE, Inc. promises “a convenient and diverse marketplace of local food manufacturers and vendors who will supply culturally applicable products, data and facilities to foster networking and decorate the nutritional experience. ”
Operating from five p. m. to 8 p. m. between April and November, the Green Valley Farmers Market would also seek to address a lack of trust in food and address some network considerations about public protection and drug use in and around the park at 2400 S. Shirlington Road.
“The Green Valley Civic Association is constantly questioned about its negative behaviors in this area,” one justification states. “We believe that the negative behavior is not generalized when the activities are scheduled at the level or in the vicinity of the [municipal square]. “
Located across from The Shelton, a tenement building, the market would be SNAP-compliant and would also offer cooking demonstrations and other facts about how to prepare the produce sold there.
The line outside the nearby Arlington Food Assistance Center site is a block long during food distribution, Future Market Director Portia Clark told ARLnow. But not everyone who can get benefits is using NWAC, and many families in the community rarely skip meals or go without healthy foods, she said.
“A lot of other people say they just don’t come because they don’t need it, but then they stay home and are hungry,” he said.
Clark, who is also president of the Green Valley Civic Association, said part of the challenge lies in limited food in Green Valley. Lack of food confidence is especially acute in the summer, she explained, because some young people who get loose or reduced-price lunches at school don’t have other foods to eat at home.
“They don’t have food places to go to, or the advertising is rarely transparent enough for them to know where to pass out and eat if they’re hungry,” Clark said.
The plaza near Drew Park and the Charles Drew Community Center is already a popular gathering place for many current and former citizens of the neighborhood. However, reports of public drunkenness and occasional violent crime (added to several shootings in 2023) have ruined the area’s reputation.
Clark hopes a Friday night farmers market can lessen unrest and replace public perceptions.
“We’re looking to create a more positive atmosphere, where other people don’t know about Green Valley because of all the negative things that happen,” he said.
Plans for the farmers market call for about 10 to 12 vendor tents to start, although the park is giant enough to hold up to 20 vendors. Tents may begin setting up at 3 p. m. and parking along S. Shirlington Road and 24th Street S. would be reserved for vendors and food trucks on market days.
Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School, Macedonia Baptist Church and Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lomax came forward to allow visitors to park in their parking lots, according to the statement of justification. The nearest existing farmers market is about two miles away and operates on Sundays at 2820 Columbia Pike.
Clark had hoped to open a market in Green Valley this spring, but has experienced a series of delays in obtaining a permit. He now hopes his proposal will be presented to the Arlington County Council in October.