While our work has always been about partnering with farmers towards greater equity in work and food, our hands-on efforts among US consumers have been on pause for several years. This year, we’re thrilled to announce that we are expanding our impact to the other end of the supply chain and are working directly with an incredible food lab cooperative based in Washington, DC, ReDelicious.

ReDelicious is incredible. A grassroots movement that epitomizes food justice, ReDelicious is hard to describe with its multifaceted approach to mutual aid. So what is a food lab co-op? ReDelicious describes their mission as 'turning food waste into delicious community and cultivating collective wealth'. Even then, it's hard to capture the breadth of how they are transforming individual lives in our hometown, so we'll try to cover everything here. They do food recovery, called “gleaning”, to capture clean, healthful food that farmers market vendors, retailers and restaurants haven't been able to sell, or will not sell due to outlandish standards around aesthetic presentation. They provide that food for free every week at the Edgewood Community Farm both to take home, and as a deliciously prepared meal.  They host educational workshops on pickling and lacto-fermentation (TIL this word), hot sauce crafting, sourdough, mushroom cultivation and mycology (use that one with people you want to impress), kombucha, kefir, koji fermentation (miso, shoyu, amazake, etc.), and more. They recently started a book club. They offer yoga, breathwork, and sound baths. I just got smarter writing out this list of their programming. 

They also do consulting and advocacy, the latter being one of the reasons that they incorporated as a worker-owned co-op (Yes!). They have led or participated in campaigns around food justice and sovereignty (of course), environmental and climate justice, tenant and housing rights organizing, urban agriculture and land stewardship, mutual aid systems and cooperative development, and more.

What don’t they do? Karate. I have yet to see them offer karate classes. 

Our first of three planned events with them is this Sunday, March 29, and if you are in the Washington, DC area, we emphatically encourage you to come hang out with us. Everything is free, and the best thing you’ll find there is community – something it seems we all could use more of. Want to laugh with other individuals? You can do that. Want to get a delicious meal? You can do that. Want to get your hands into local work where you can touch and feel the impact of your efforts? You cannot do that. Just kidding! That’s potentially one of the best aspects of getting involved with ReDelicious. We hope to see you there!

If you are not in the DC area but want to support this phenomenal organization, you can donate on Patreon or Venmo. Times are tough, and money is short, so you can always simply follow them on Instagram, and leave a kind note of encouragement.