Farmers visit Capitol

Lois Allensworth is making her first trip to the Longworth cafeteria on Tuesday to sell her family’s produce to staffers, members and tourists as part of the lower chamber’s new “Farm Days at the House” program.

The initiative invites farmers to set up a small stand in the cafeteria for the day and remain on hand for three and a half hours to answer questions.

{mosads}“The purpose of this program is to give our customers the opportunity to meet the farmer who is growing the food that they eat, and also to allow the farmers the ability to interact with the end consumer of their product,” reads a statement by Restaurant Associates, the House’s food vendor.

Allensworth will open for business at 11 a.m. and is bringing fresh elephant garlic, green beans, yellow-black beans, sweet basil and three kinds of cherry tomatoes.

She’s the second farmer to take part in the program, which started last month. Other farmers are expected to visit Capitol Hill throughout the summer and fall.

Allensworth’s farm, Lois’s Produce, is located in Leedstown, Va. — about 75 miles from Washington — and sells more than 50 varieties of fruits and vegetables at five farmers markets in the Northern Virginia region. The produce is also sold at area grocery stores and restaurants.

The House’s Farmers Market began last July.