The classic bake sale is getting a 2019 makeover at the Farmer’s Bakery, a weekly pop-up shop specializing in local CBD-infused treats. Organized and hosted by the District Hemp location in Dupont Circle, the inaugural event is on Tuesday, October 29. It will feature ten vendors and a Halloween theme.
Participants include TreatsByTre, who’ll scoop vegan coconut milk ice cream from a witch’s cauldron. Keto and gluten-free customers can snag bread baked by cannabis catering company Green Panther Chef. Bakeries like Sneeky Snacks and Snicklefrittz are peddling caramel apples, cookies, and rice Krispy treats.
The pop up isn’t just an agora of edibles—it’s also an incubator for a rotating roster of local small businesses.
“I realized because the market is so saturated right now, it’s harder for smaller cooks to really do much in [the CBD industry],” says District Hemp owner Barbara Biddle. “I wanted to give them somewhere that they can come every single week, sell their baked goods to a loyal crowd, and essentially build their brands.”
Many of the vendors have roots in the gifting marketplace created by Initiative 71, the 2014 ballot measure that legalized (with limitations) possessing, home growing, and gifting cannabis in DC. Before opening three locations of District Hemp in Virginia and the District, Biddle herself worked the local vending scene and farmer’s market circuit. Since then, CBD products have become ubiquitous for their calming qualities, sold at national retailers like Whole Foods as well as mom-and-pop shops. Your grandma might sip a CBD tea before bed while owners of neurotic pups are turning to CBD tinctures for an easy day at the dog park. But for the hesitant newcomer looking to dip a toe into the CBD-infused-water, the pop-up market is an opportunity to connect with the makers themselves and ask questions before trying a treat.
Vendors are vetted for up-to-date food safety certifications like the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe program. The milligrams of CBD in each product will be displayed as a range at each table and on packaging.
“I feel like through food, it’s a lot more disarming,” says Biddle. “It’s a really good way to kind of get your feet wet.”
The Farmer’s Bakery. 1312 Connecticut Ave., NW. Tuesdays, 5 PM to 9 PM.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
