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EightFold Farms DC is a group of small sustainable intensive urban farms that have been created from underutilized and abandoned indoor and outdoor spaces located throughout Washington, DC. We grow fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and mushrooms to sell to local retail and wholesale outlets and underserved communities. We are currently seeking capital to launch Washington, DC's first mobile mushroom farm.
https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/article/21111347/a-sommeliers-foray-into-urban-agriculture-starts-with-mushrooms-in-shipping-containers
Why Urban Farming?
• Sustainability
o We utilize underused green spaces like lawns, which are unsustainable in many ways (use of fresh water and gasoline for lawn care), and potential spaces such as rooftops and shipping containers, and turn them into viable sources of food, that help support a healthy environment and healthy food systems.
• Market Access
o We live and work in the market that we are serving. We concentrate on direct to consumer market streams, grow higher value crops, and use labor saving and time saving techniques to allow us to provide our customers with the freshest and most affordable products. Our size and locations give us the ability to fluidly customize our crops to market demand.
• Community
o EightFold Farms was founded by a Washingtonian raised in the very community it serves. We recognize the importance of community and the significant role that food culture plays in developing and maintaining healthy neighborhoods and strong community values. It is our mission to not only provide healthier food options, but to be a cornerstone in the reemergence of OUR neighborhoods through community, economic development, and agricultural education.
"Education is not a way to escape poverty, it is a way of fighting it."
-Julius Nyerere
EightFold Farms in conjunction with University of the District of Columbia and our other partners will launch “From Farm to Table”, a program that teaches the journey of food from the farm to the restaurant plate and grocery store shelves. The objectives are to teach Urban Agriculture techniques, the business behind the restaurant and farming industry, and to create a workforce within Urban Agriculture and the restaurant industry..
EightFold Food Group’s founder and CEO, Calvin Hines, Jr. is a native Southeast Washingtonian. His 22-year career in the restaurant business began at Foster’s Bar and Grill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania while attending the University of Pittsburgh. After moving back to Washington he found a true passion for both the business and creative aspects of the restaurant industry and in 2007 began working for Capital Restaurant Concepts where he managed the multi-million dollar food, beverage, and service programs for Old Glory, J. Paul’s, Third Edition, and Georgia Brown’s. After his stint with CRC, Calvin went on to oversee celebrity chef Art Smith’s Art and Soul, the food and beverage outlets of the Liaison Hotel and Restauranteur of The Year Ashok Bajaj’s Ardeo+Bardeo. In 2013 Calvin completed The Court of Master Sommeliers introductory level and in 2015 became a Certified Sommelier through “The Court”. Since 2017 he has studied the origins of food deserts in Washington, DC, urban farming techniques, mushroom cultivation, and Cuba’s urban agriculture movement. An Echoing Green Fellowship Finalist, he was featured in Echoing Green's 2020 Social Impact Talent Report as one of a select group of change leaders working towards a brighter future https://echoinggreen.org/news/2020-talent-report-food-and-agriculture . In 2020 he founded EightFold Food Group, launched EightFold Farms DC LLC, completed The Urban Agriculture Technician training program through UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences and joined The DC Food Policy Council’s Urban Agriculture Working Group.
https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/article/21111347/a-sommeliers-foray-into-urban-agriculture-starts-with-mushrooms-in-shipping-containers
Why Urban Farming?
• Sustainability
o We utilize underused green spaces like lawns, which are unsustainable in many ways (use of fresh water and gasoline for lawn care), and potential spaces such as rooftops and shipping containers, and turn them into viable sources of food, that help support a healthy environment and healthy food systems.
• Market Access
o We live and work in the market that we are serving. We concentrate on direct to consumer market streams, grow higher value crops, and use labor saving and time saving techniques to allow us to provide our customers with the freshest and most affordable products. Our size and locations give us the ability to fluidly customize our crops to market demand.
• Community
o EightFold Farms was founded by a Washingtonian raised in the very community it serves. We recognize the importance of community and the significant role that food culture plays in developing and maintaining healthy neighborhoods and strong community values. It is our mission to not only provide healthier food options, but to be a cornerstone in the reemergence of OUR neighborhoods through community, economic development, and agricultural education.
"Education is not a way to escape poverty, it is a way of fighting it."
-Julius Nyerere
EightFold Farms in conjunction with University of the District of Columbia and our other partners will launch “From Farm to Table”, a program that teaches the journey of food from the farm to the restaurant plate and grocery store shelves. The objectives are to teach Urban Agriculture techniques, the business behind the restaurant and farming industry, and to create a workforce within Urban Agriculture and the restaurant industry..
EightFold Food Group’s founder and CEO, Calvin Hines, Jr. is a native Southeast Washingtonian. His 22-year career in the restaurant business began at Foster’s Bar and Grill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania while attending the University of Pittsburgh. After moving back to Washington he found a true passion for both the business and creative aspects of the restaurant industry and in 2007 began working for Capital Restaurant Concepts where he managed the multi-million dollar food, beverage, and service programs for Old Glory, J. Paul’s, Third Edition, and Georgia Brown’s. After his stint with CRC, Calvin went on to oversee celebrity chef Art Smith’s Art and Soul, the food and beverage outlets of the Liaison Hotel and Restauranteur of The Year Ashok Bajaj’s Ardeo+Bardeo. In 2013 Calvin completed The Court of Master Sommeliers introductory level and in 2015 became a Certified Sommelier through “The Court”. Since 2017 he has studied the origins of food deserts in Washington, DC, urban farming techniques, mushroom cultivation, and Cuba’s urban agriculture movement. An Echoing Green Fellowship Finalist, he was featured in Echoing Green's 2020 Social Impact Talent Report as one of a select group of change leaders working towards a brighter future https://echoinggreen.org/news/2020-talent-report-food-and-agriculture . In 2020 he founded EightFold Food Group, launched EightFold Farms DC LLC, completed The Urban Agriculture Technician training program through UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences and joined The DC Food Policy Council’s Urban Agriculture Working Group.