Volunteering at the third annual Rooting DC conference (which was totally free for anyone to attend!), I came into contact with so much positive energy from participants, vendors, and other volunteer workers, I couldn’t help but anticipate the pulse of a new growing season.

During the hour or so between the doors opening and the start of the first session, I gathered much more than a stack of papers with information about who was attending the event. I had the chance to soak up the excitement of 500 urban gardeners, food justice advocates, nutrition educators, community leaders, and good food eaters from DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

Each person was there for a slightly different reason. Some came to learn about growing specialty crops from Africa and the Caribbean or preparing healthy meals with garden-fresh ingredients. Others came to hear about the history and future of urban agriculture or social enterprise strategies for increasing food equality. Some planned to attend a presentation in Spanish on container gardening or nutrition. The youngest ones had a fun day of garden-related crafts waiting for them in the kids’ room.

But everyone seemed to bring a little bit of the same thing: a sense of hope about the future of DC’s foodscape and a willingness to get their hands dirty to make it happen.

If the buzz at Rooting DC this past Saturday proved anything, it’s that Washington is ready for spring. Not just for the snow to melt and streets and sidewalks to become fully passable again, but for the soil to be turned, seeds to go in the ground, networks to grow, and ideas to flourish. The combined passions of everyone coming through those doors filled that high-ceilinged room with a spirit of community that made me feel like we could certainly accomplish our goals. Fresh local food in schools, chickens in backyards, a new fleet of food carts serving quick and wholesome lunches, vacant ground transformed into lush garden space—we can do it!

That morning, before Rooting DC had even really begun, I knew it was going to be a good day…and a great year to get busy planting, tending, harvesting, and sharing the fruits of our labor. My first job for spring? Planting some lettuce mix, Tatsoi, and Minutina in pots for my very own balcony salad bar.

Egger knows DC’s foodscape intimately. In addition to furthering the success of DC Central Kitchen, he chairs the Mayor’s Commission on Nutrition and is actively working to get more local food into schools. His talk at Rooting DC (“Breaking through the Barriers—The Business of Better Food for All,” from 11:45 to 12:45) will spread his infectious enthusiasm for food equality by laying out ideas for what could come next—if we work for it.

As a frequent traveler, Egger speaks to groups around the country and observes other cities’ unique problems, as well as their bold initiatives. He started The Campus Kitchens Project as a replicable model that’s been implemented by 20 universities across the US. As he travels, he keeps an eye out for trends that could become lasting solutions. “Trends are potential. Trends are maybes,” he says.

In his presentation at Rooting DC, Egger will discuss America’s turbulent relationship with agriculture during the past century—from our ubiquitous dependence on the family farm, to the flight away from farming and into cities, and now to renewed attention on knowing where our food comes from.

What Egger calls the “return of the prodigal generation” to an interest in food and farming coincides with the potential for social enterprise as an alternative to charity. As an example, he cites Finger Lakes Fresh, an Ithaca, New York-based organization that employs people with disabilities to grow local vegetables. The produce is sold to local Wegman’s stores where shoppers can buy the food they want, while supporting an at-risk segment of their community.

Educating the public on the great potential for social enterprise is key. Although it’s catching on in the UK, most Americans still aren’t familiar with the concept. “The thing that’s missing in social enterprise is demand,” Egger says. But that also means that the time is right for advocates and entrepreneurs to step up and take action. “We have to start businesses that has the average person saying, ‘Whoa! Whoa, can you do that?’” he challenges.

Come to Egger’s presentation at Rooting DC and you’ll be ready to answer that question with a resounding “Yes!”

Robert Egger will present his talk “Breaking through the Barriers—The Business of Better Food for All” at Rooting DC on February 20 during Workshop Session 2, from 11:45 to 12:45. Register for Rooting DC now and view the full schedule.

Cross-posted on DC Food for All.