The UDC Van Ness farmers market is back. Here’s who will be there every Saturday through November.

Updated 4/28/2022 with the list of confirmed vendors, and new hours of operation.

It’s fate. It has to be. Last weekend we pulled the last of our tamales stash from the freezer. And not just any tamales. These were Doña Rosa tamales, from the 2021 UDC Van Ness farmers market. We were glad because we were (we thought) only two weeks away from the opening of the market for the 2022 season, and more delicious Doña Rosa tamales.

We’re even happier to report that we thought wrong.

The UD Van Ness farmers market opens not on the first Saturday of May, the usual date, but on the last Saturday of April – which happens to be this Saturday. It will be outside of the UDC Student Center at 4200 Connecticut Avenue every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. until the season ends on November 26th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Note the change in hours from previous market seasons – when it was 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The market is a collaboration between UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) and the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association (NLFRTA), now entering its 13th year.

4/28 update: Doña Rosa is back for the 2022 season. Market manager, UDC CAUSES student Meagan Miller, has provided us a list of the confirmed vendors. There are several familiar names – and several new ones.

300 Grados Bakery (baked goods)
Amano Real Fruit (popsicles)
Cafe Medrano (coffee)
Chippin (dog treats)
Tamales Doña Rosa (tamales, pupusas, quesadillas, and more)
Fanys Home Burger (burgers)
G. Flores Produce (produce)
Frutika Rika (fresh fruit bowls)
Graphic Box Tatoos (t-shirts, hats, etc.)
Gray Lane Farm (produce)
Heavenly Hands West Indian Cuisine and Beyond LLC (savory and sweet entrees)
King Produce
Letena Ethiopian
Leuro Handmade (jewelry, bags)
Majoh Gourmet (pupusas, desserts)
Mena’s Boys Gourmet (pickles, savory items)
Muldoon Hemp (CBD products)
Naguara Con Sabor Venezolano (Venezuelan cuisine)
NK’s Nutri Health Juices (fresh juices)
Ozz Catering (Turkish)
Rosemary Bistro Cafe (French)
Sunshine Goodies (artisan bowls, etc.)
Tahitian Treats Skincare Apothecary (pet skincare, herbs and teas, chocolate infused entrees)
The Green Scheme (water)
Aroma By Anette (spa)

Another feel-good story is the profile of the UDC Van Ness farmers market’s immigrant vendors from El Tiempo Latino in November 2021. In late December, DCist reprinted the article in English.

There you can read more about Doña Rosa and how fellow entrepreneur Raúl Medrano says “COVID raised awareness in this type of local market.”