Mission

Strengthening our local food system to improve the health and well-being of the Richmond community.

Core Values

Integrity: Maintaining the highest standards of quality and accountability in all that we do.

Access: Providing a reliable connection among local farms, local food, and local folks.

Equity: Committing to fairness and inclusion in our decision-making. 

Health: Seeking out opportunities to improve physical, economic, and environmental well-being.

Community: Strengthening us all, by feeding us well.

History

Birdhouse Farmers Market is the hub of an ecosystem of healthy, food-related community activities designed to strengthen our local food system and improve the health and well being of our community. Our seasonal farmers market - a friendly, open-air, all-weather, mid-week, food-focused, SNAP-accepting farmers market - is central to our organization, but far from our only activity. We operate a year-round online farmers market with a curbside pickup option to serve those with mobility issues. We also support our community with an educational garden space, Birdhouse Community Garden, adjacent to the market area. At Birdhouse Community Garden, everyone is welcome to visit and learn about local foods, gardening, native plants, healthy eating, and wholesome cooking. We also partner in a community composting project, and have expanded our relationship with neighborhood food pantries beyond market gleanings to allow the pantries to make direct, grant-funded food purchases from our local farmers. Think of it: quality, fresh, local foods going directly to our most vulnerable families.

Birdhouse Farmers Market began as Byrd House Market, a project of the William Byrd Community House (WBCH) in 2007 in Oregon Hill. In addition to the farmers market, WBCH included a community garden, cooking classes, a mini farm, and nutrition education for children and local families. Our goal is to recreate the critically important work of WBCH in our new home in Randolph, an area just a few blocks west of our original home. We are on our way, but still have much to do.

When the WBCH closed its doors in the Fall of 2015, after 93 years as a social services organization, the Byrd House Market reorganized itself as Birdhouse Farmers Market and moved to Petronius Jones Park beside the Randolph Community Center, where we found we could improve accessibility (we’re on the bus line) and increase our footprint. We now have 36 spaces at the market, provide more activities, and have grown into a valuable community resource in a neighborhood without a grocery store.

2024 marks the 18th season for our seasonal farmers market, with attendance over the last 8 years ranging from 300-800 persons per market day. Our market is frequented by area chefs and those seeking high-end, organic produce, and those seeking more affordable, everyday fare. Our SNAP and Virginia Fresh Match program helps keep our community well fed and engaged. We’re a family-friendly market with music and weekly activities for children of all ages. 

Beginning in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Birdhouse Farmers Market added an online shopping option for the safety and convenience of our market customers. During the uncertainty of the pandemic, Birdhouse Online Farmers Market provided customers with consistent access to local foods. SNAP recipients used their benefits online and all shoppers could opt for curbside pickup.

In the winter of 2020, Birdhouse added the Birdhouse Winter Market, an online, curbside pickup market, featuring most of our regular vendors and adding several “winter only” vendors. Birdhouse Winter Market allows our customers the continuity of shopping locally year-round, coupled with the safety and convenience of curbside pickup. Our SNAP and SNAP Match program continues through the winter.

After numerous delays as a result of COVID-19, in 2022 Birdhouse broke ground on Birdhouse Community Garden, with educational programming beginning in the summer of 2023. The Randolph Community Center seniors and after-school programs have their own gardening spaces at the Birdhouse Community Garden where we work collaboratively to encourage intergenerational learning and fun.

Early 2023 brought the opportunity to expand our relationship with the Food Pantry Ministry at 2nd Baptist Church to include direct purchases by the food pantry from our local producers. In late 2023, we expanded our food pantry partnerships to work with VCU Ram Pantry. Food insecure students now have weekly access to fresh fruit, produce, eggs, and locally prepared foods from Birdhouse Farmers Market. This is a USDA grant program funded though mid 2025 and the possibility of becoming a permanently funded through the Farm Bill.

At the end of the day, food is the great equalizer. We all eat, if we are lucky, 3 times a day. Birdhouse Farmers Market is committed to creating a healthy food-focused environment where our community and our food system grows stronger every day.