Jake Abell, July 18

The most rewarding and unexpected perk of working in Washington has been the chance to buy all of my groceries at The DuPont Circle Farmer’s Market. Farmers from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia all come out on Sunday morning to sell local (“ish”), fresh, and natural produce. I discovered that I could live on 150-200 dollars a week for food if I bought exclusively fresh food from there and didn’t eat out. Doing so has turned out great for my finances, my health, and my taste buds that are happier than they’ve been in some time. It’s been empowering to realize that you can invest in local farmers, feed yourself nutritious food all the time, and save money all in one stroke. The whole experience has shown me how much power each one of us has to effect change across local economies, our own personal health, and our finances with a simple change like buying your groceries locally. Yeah local food!