PEC’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows connects area residents to Loudoun’s vital agricultural history while providing locally-grown fruits and vegetables for its food-insecure population today.

Volunteer at the Farm

Since our first season in 2019, PEC’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows has donated 100% of what is grown on the farm to area food pantries. This would not have been possible without the assistance of our incredible team of volunteers, who dedicate hundreds of hours to help with lots of different farm tasks. Whether you’re a group searching for a team-building event, or an individual or family looking for a healthy way to support your community, the Community Farm is happy to host you and grateful for your time.

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“Volunteering at the PEC farm has been such a rewarding experience. I have had the opportunity to spend time on a beautiful piece of property and learn more about plants and gardening through hands on experiences. Best of all, When the harvesting is done, I know that my work has contributed to better nutrition and hope for the less fortunate by providing fresh produce to the area food bank.”

– Mary Peterson

“Working at the community farm was a great experience!  Everyone was very friendly and worked well together.  Not only was I able to give back to the community by helping grow vegetables for the local food banks but I learned a lot about growing my own vegetables from the great farm team, Dana, Teddy and Catherine.  Looking forward to returning next season.”

– Tammy Mullin-Katz, 2024 Volunteer of the Year

Volunteer requirements

All ages and skill levels are invited to volunteer at the Community Farm and no previous experience is required. An adult must accompany children under the age of 16. All volunteers are required to complete a waiver when they sign up.

Volunteers are encouraged to bring water, snacks, sunscreen/insect repellent, gardening gloves if they have them, and to wear closed-toed shoes and clothes that can get dirty. There is a porta potty, washing station and hand sanitizer on site.

Hours of operation

Our volunteer season runs from April–October. Due to the food pantry’s availability to pick up produce, the majority of time slots are Monday–Friday mornings, with occasional afternoons and weekends.

Farm tasks

Volunteers opportunities include a range of different farm tasks, including seeding, planting, harvesting, weeding, and more. While helping their community, volunteers also learn more about the local food system and hopefully pick up a few tips on growing their own fruits and veggies at home!

Volunteers can also sign up at letsvolunteer.org, loudouncares.org and volunteermatch.org.

Our Mission to Feed

Loudoun County is one of the wealthiest, most rapidly growing jurisdictions in the country. However, according to Feeding America, in 2020, 15,790 Loudoun residents were food insecure. Of these residents, 49% were ineligible for federal assistance such as SNAP. Since 2019, The Piedmont Environmental Council has been working to help improve access to high-quality fruits and vegetables for those in need in Loudoun County through our work at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows.

For PEC, the Community Farm is an important door to our community, not only fighting food insecurity in Loudoun County but also providing a chance for urban- and suburban-based residents to experience the sensation of soil between their fingers and to learn the joys of sustaining life through gardening and farming while also serving those in need.

In its first season, the farm produced almost 5,000 pounds of fresh fruits and veggies including potatoes, tomatoes, squash, and melons. Since then, we have donated over 184,000 pounds of regeneratively grown food to Loudoun Hunger Relief. Through our partnership with Loudoun Hunger Relief, the produce grown at the Community Farm goes directly to those who need it most as well as 15 other partner organizations. In 2023, we welcomed two new partners, Christ Church Cares and FISH of Clarke County, to reach families across a wider geography. 

Current events have put healthy, delicious food outside the financial means of many families. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, as food costs have skyrocketed due to inflation, and as our nation has suffered food supply chain breakdowns, our local food pantries have continued to serve increased numbers. In response, we have continued to expand our production, adding an orchard and more vegetable fields to grow staple crops while building soil to ensure we can sustain our commitment to fighting food insecurity.

Our Sustainable Practices

A crucial part of the Community’s Farm mission, and one that goes hand-in-hand with successful farming, is building soil health, and sharing what we learn with other area farmers.

On a working vegetable farm, building soil is accomplished through environmental practices and organic amendments. We rotate crop families around the farm to reduce pest and disease pressure and the need for organic pesticides and fungicides. By planting cover crops, we fix nitrogen and add organic matter to the soil.

A crucial part of the Community’s Farm mission, and one that goes hand-in-hand with successful farming, is building soil health and sharing what we learn with our community.

On a working vegetable farm, building healthy soil is accomplished through a combination of cover cropping, cultural practices, and organic amendments. The Community Farm uses these tools and techniques to practice the soil health principles outlined by 4 The Soil, a program of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and Virginia Cooperative Extension. These principles include: keeping the soil covered, minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing living roots, and energizing with diversity. 

Cover crops achieve each of these four principles and are the main source of carbon on the Community Farm. They also fix nitrogen, add organic matter to the soil, and out-compete weed species. In 2024, we devoted 35% of our total growing space to year-long cover cropping with plans to continue this soil building project into 2025 and beyond. 

Extensive soil testing allows us to take a targeted approach to fertility amendments, reducing the chance of nitrogen runoff into Howser’s Branch while maintaining the optimal growing conditions for our vegetables.

Cultural practices on a farm cover a broad range of activities that manage the farm’s crops and soil. The Community Farm prioritizes practices that minimize soil disturbance and do not invert the soil layers, such as using reusable landscape fabric plastic mulch and tarps to smother weeds and eliminate cover crops or old vegetable crops to prepare the soil for planting. In 2023, we also invested in new tractor implements that reduce compaction and improve overall soil structure. 

All amendments used on the Community Farm are certified Organic, and no herbicides are used in crop growing areas to prevent chemical soil disturbance. Rotating crop families around the farm reduces pest and disease pressure and the need for organic pesticides and fungicides. Extensive soil testing also allows us to take a targeted approach to fertility amendments, reducing the chance of nitrogen runoff into Howser’s Branch while maintaining the optimal growing conditions for our vegetables.

Visit Us at Gilberts Corner

There are several management areas within the 172 acres owned by PEC at Gilberts Corner, which also includes our Gilberts Corner Farmers Market and the Old Carolina Road Trail. The Community Farm is located on approximately 40 acres within the triangle created by the traffic circles at Howsers Branch Road, Route 15 and Route 50. The address is 39990 Howsers Branch Dr., Aldie, VA 20105. If the gate is open, you’re welcome to stop in!

Questions? Contact Community Farm Coordinator Teddy Pitsiokos at [email protected] or (540) 347-2334 x7069.

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