Red Wiggler Community Farm- A New Inspiration

There are three versions to my 'life in the future' fantasy. One is to have a simple green grocery, a store with fresh veggies and beautiful baked goods, all made and sourced locally, of course. In the back room would be a long table with picnic style benches where I could make dinner for friends once a week, or thereabouts. Doesn't that sound dreamy?

The second fantasy involves breaking up the concrete in the Azalea Mall parking lot, keeping the buildings, (one of which is a library, another a church which used to be a bank, as well as a garden center- all crucial) and planting a food forest/ park. Yes, I am serious. It would be beautiful- hazelnuts, blueberries, apple trees. Some peanuts as ground cover...

Ok, so the third fantasy is an actual farm where people would come to camp out with their families, or get married, or watch movies projected on a barn, and to just be together, outside, with good food. I have even gone so far as to scope out property with my friend Casey. We have had many a fun drive, exploring our native land, dreaming about this life...

This weekend, I met a man who was doing these things, more intentionally and much more nobly than I have let myself dream. Woody Woodruff is the exective director of Red Wiggler Farms in Montgomery County, MD. By 'doing these things', I mean that he has a notion that we are all in this together, so we should make it good. Check out the website- there is a gorgeous (like I needed a new fantasy...) solar powered farm house, a CSA which employs developmentally disabled folks and many other programs devoted to bringing us into the good work. Thanks, Woody for the inspiration.