GROWERS mission | growers | youth education | environmental stewardship

We cultivate meaningful employment for adults with developmental disabilities.
Red Wiggler Community Farm (a recognized 501c3 non-profit) is located in Montgomery County, Maryland. Founded in 1996, Red Wiggler’s main tenet is to provide gainful employment for adults with developmental disabilities through a unique horticulture program. The bulk of this program focuses on building a vocational structure that identifies and builds on the abilities of our clients with developmental disabilities such as Autism, Downs Syndrome, and Mental Retardation. We call our clients “growers”. We assign the grower’s farm tasks based on their individual abilities. These abilities are nurtured by our staff. Tasks undertaken by the growers include growing and selling vegetables, taking care of a chicken flock, and maintaining fields, barns, and equipment. Our growers cultivate vegetables on six acres in Montgomery County, MD and then sell or donate this produce to the community. We serve the Montgomery County community in the following ways:

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): This is a unique program in which families “subscribe” to our vegetable harvest during the summer for a set price. Weekly for 18 weeks each subscriber comes to the farm to pick-up an overflowing box of whatever vegetables are being harvested that week. In this way, the customer supports our social mission while also enjoying delicious vegetables at an affordable price. Not only do customers learn which vegetables grow in which season (no, tomatoes aren’t harvested in June!), how different vegetables grow in different conditions, and understand where their food comes from, but they also provide valuable social and business interaction for our growers. In 2005, Red Wiggler hosted 72 families in its CSA program. These 72 shares included shares for 2 group homes in Montgomery County.

Local Markets: We also sell at local markets and to local restaurants. One of our favorite markets is the Leisure World Farmer’s Market in Silver Spring. Leisure World is a large retirement community where we market our fresh produce once a week throughout the summer. We are happy to be able to provide a senior population with nutritious, homegrown, affordable vegetables. The transaction between customer and grower provides immeasurable pride and reward for our growers. We held 6 farmer’s markets at Leisure World Maryland in 2005 during the peak of tomato season.

Gleaning for Food Banks: Additionally, our growers harvest and deliver food to the Manna Food Center in Rockville, Maryland. We have donated over 18,000 pounds of vitamin-rich, fresh produce to area food banks since 1996 (averaging 2,180 lbs. in 45 trips annually). This transaction allows our growers the sense that they are giving back to the community, which again, is a source of tremendous pride and reward for these growers. We delivered 2,459 pounds of produce in 50 trips to MANNA in 2005.