We are a small, woman-owned company that started with one woman and a pickup truck. Since then, we've grown to a staff of as many as 20 during the growing season. We have completed thousands of vegetable plantings for residents and businesses in the DC Metro area.

Our Mission

Love & Carrots envisions a future where vegetable gardens are commonplace in urban landscapes.

Since 2011, Love & Carrots has worked diligently to proliferate gardening knowledge with individuals, families, businesses, and organizations. We provide assistance to people who would like to grow healthy food in their yard, porch, patio, eatery, balcony, or rooftop. At Love & Carrots, we are passionate about utilizing a hands-on approach to get people excited about eating fresh, healthy food.

We want to create a ripple effect with urban agriculture.

Our goal is to expose as many people as possible to sustainable practices and smart growing, so they can use that knowledge themselves and continue to share it with others. Love & Carrots raises awareness about sustainability and biodiversity. We make urban environments more conducive to healthy living. 

DC is unique in that it has abundant yard space for a city, but very few people use these spaces to grow food. Every garden we plant is a small step toward reducing our carbon footprint, and positively impacting the District as a whole. 

Our Team

Meredith Sheperd

Founder, President

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Meredith Sheperd has been working in organic agriculture and environmental sustainability for 15 years. Before founding Love & Carrots in 2011, she was the manager of Chaily Farm in VA, which produced organic herbs and vegetables for DC restaurants. Meredith received the 2013 DC Mayor's Sustainability Award, 2014 Green America Award, and Business Insider's Top 50 'Coolest' Businesses in America. Meredith can be reached at: [email protected]

Carly Mercer

partner, Vice President

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Carly Mercer previously worked on food issues at an advocacy group before taking the fight for access to good food directly to people’s backyards (front yards too!). She has apprenticed on farms from Costa Rica to Maine, and participated in the DC Master Gardener Program. Carly joined Love & Carrots in 2014 and is passionate about urban agriculture and teaching people how to grow their own food. Carly can be reached at: [email protected]

Hannah Walrath

Installation Operations Director

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Hannah Walrath is passionate about the intersection between agriculture, urban design, architecture, philosophy, and the environment. After studying English Literature and Mandarin at Georgetown, she became passionate about the local food movement and worked for two years in the local specialty food space in D.C.. In 2021 her desire to learn more about local agricultural production and urban food access brought her to Love & Carrots. She firmly believes a connection to our food can help foster community and improve our connection to the world around us. Hannah can be reached at: [email protected]

 

Freddy Carruth

INSTALLATION director

Freddy Carruth joined the Love & Carrots team in March 2020. He is a Clemson graduate with a degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences, and a concentration in Agricultural Biotechnology. Freddy has worked on a variety of farms with different focuses such as research, production, and education. In his spare time, he enjoys rock climbing!

Anthony Surace

Lead Foreman, Installation program coordinator

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Anthony Surace is a native of Upstate New York. He relocated to the DMV 9 years ago to work in commercial construction, where he specialized in the installation and maintenance of green roofs. Through his work, Anthony saw the potential for green roofs to provide storm water benefits as well as use their usefulness for urban agriculture. He came to Love & Carrots to learn more about urban agriculture and it's benefits to both the environment and community. In his spare time, Anthony is working towards his commercial pilot license.

Ian Kiefhaber

Installation Lead

Ian Kiefhaber joined the Love and Carrots team in Spring 2022. He is from Silver Spring, MD and has a background in trail construction and maintenance in the DMV area. He is passionate about working to improve green spaces for people and gains satisfaction from being outdoors in the dirt all day long. In his off time, Ian enjoys a good cup of coffee, riding his bike around the city, and practicing yoga with friends.

 

Leah Drew

horticulture director

Leah Drew grew up in northern Vermont and worked on two farms through high school. They came to DC to do political work, and ended up specializing in agricultural policy, which ultimately inspired them to return to their farming roots. They are concerned about our ability to grow food as the climate changes, and think intensive urban agriculture is one facet of a more resilient and sustainable food system. Mostly, they love working with plants and are excited to help people raise their own gardens in the DMV. Leah can be reached at: [email protected]

Maddy Belin

Accounts & Communications manager

Maddy Belin hails from California, where she found her passion for agroecology as an undergraduate on Stanford’s campus educational farm. After graduating with her B.S. and M.S. in Earth Systems, she worked as a field organizer for climate action advocacy campaigns. Maddy’s passionate about ensuring equitable access to good food through building community food sovereignty. She is happiest with her hands in the soil and with her dog Hooch at her side. She can be reached at [email protected]

Silver Alford

assistant training manager/ urban farmer

Silver Alford joined Love & Carrots in 2021. They have a degree from University of Maryland in Environmental Science and Policy. They previously worked at the AgroEcoLab as a Field Technician. They are excited to further their interest in agriculture at Love & Carrots. Silver can be reached at: [email protected]

 

Alison Jones

Landscape Designer

Alison Jones has a background in art history, painting, publishing, and sustainable landscape design. She recently completed a master's degree in landscape architecture at the University of Maryland where she conducted research on how sensory perception can be applied to the design of restorative public and private landscapes. Alison grew up in a foreign service family and loves learning about other cultures, cuisines, and gardening styles. Alison is happiest with her hands in the soil, deriving satisfaction and solace from tending her exuberant garden. Alison can be reached at [email protected].

Claire Seesman

Landscape Designer

Claire Seesman found her love for sustainability and design while studying at Prescott College and at the ECOSA institute. There, she learned what it means to be a human in relationship with nature and how to use systemic thinking in design. Through her 15+ years experience in plant propagation, restoration, retail nursery work, Permaculture, and both residential and commercial design/build, Claire has learned a lot about how we engage with our natural environments. Her most recent experience has been developing, managing, and training volunteers in a vegetable garden that provides produce for local food banks. She is happiest outdoors and one of her favorite experiences is witnessing the joy and wonder of others, as they learn and connect with nature too.

Ruby Dessiatoun

Senior FARMER

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Ruby Dessiatoun came to Love and Carrots in 2021 after spending 6 years at the University of Maryland where she obtained a dual degree in Plant Science and Geography with a minor in Soil Science, and then a Masters in Geographical Sciences. She spent five years at UMD with the Community Learning Garden, a student run urban agricultural project focused on sustainable farming teaching students about agriculture and the food cycle. Ruby loves food and sustainability, knitting and making art, and is completing the volunteer hours to become a PG county certified Master Gardener. Ruby can be reached at: [email protected]

 

East Gardner

URBAN FARMER

East is passionate about environmental justice and the regenerative potential of community-based agriculture in urban environments. They have always been a lover of plants and started gardening from a young age. East is always happy to share that passion and would love to rope you into the cult of gardening too! They have been farming for several years, working on organic farms both in Pennsylvania and Virginia. East believes that cultivating a relationship with the plants in our lives has as much to teach us about nature as it does about ourselves. East can be reached at [email protected]

Jodi Askew

URBAN FARMER

Jodi loves learning from and working with the earth. Jodi studied Public Health and Sustainability with a focus on Global Food Systems and is a registered Yoga Teacher. Her teaching and earth keeping experience includes carrying out fresh food interventions in Baltimore urban food deserts, cooking at a gourmet sustainability restaurant in Denmark, urban farming, developing maternal wellness programs in the DMV, and teaching community yoga and meditation. Jodi is happy to share her love and knowledge with the Love & Carrots community, where she looks forward to helping others form a more personal, reciprocal, and abundant relationship with their local ecosystem. Jodi can be reached at [email protected]

Lou Mangan

URBAN FARMER

Lou loves plants! She has been farming organically for several years now. She’s worked all over - from a horse powered veggie farm in Maine to an eclectic heritage orchard in north central PA. A recent DC transplant, she arrived in the area after thru-hiking the Appalachian trail. Hailing from a long lineage of farmers, the passion for the land, the food and the dirty, busy hands runs deep. Lou is especially excited about heirloom apple varieties, medicinal herbs, native plant species and food sovereignty for all! When she isn’t foraging, digging carrots or pruning apple trees, she enjoys basket weaving and hiking. Lou can be reached at [email protected]

 

Rasa Davidson de Sá

URBAN FARMER/installation crew

Rasa brings to Love & Carrots a passion for sustainable agriculture and experience ranging from care work to construction. Having earned a B.A. in Psychology from American University, Rasa is interested in horticulture as a means of contributing to the health of the local community. They gained an appreciation for how food connects them to nature and their cultural heritage while working the land on farms in California and Rio de Janeiro. In addition to gardening, Rasa enjoys welding, camping, and reading science fiction. 

Madeline McGovern

URBAN FARMER

Madeline is a former educator and social worker passionate about equitable food systems, the therapeutic power of nature, and fostering community through farming and food. She grew up in the lower Hudson Valley, New York and spent summer breaks throughout college working on a small mixed vegetable and flower farm. While working in the National Health Corps, she led community garden programing which involved a healthy cooking class using the produce harvested from the garden. She is excited to explore the DMV area and help people grow their own food! Madeline can be reached at [email protected].

Goose Kelley

URBAN FARMER/installation crew

Goose Kelley has a background in culinary and has primarily worked with farm-to-table vegan restaurants. Goose’s love of animals, food justice and sustainability led them to an intentional community in Virginia where they lived for two years. While there, Goose was introduced to farming and became the garden manager overseeing the raised beds, the green house and the hoop house. Goose has a degree in integrative health and wellness, which highlights the innumerable connection between body, mind and soul. For Goose, growing food is a living example of that connection. Goose hopes to bring awareness and support to food deserts and bipoc communities that can’t access locally grown fresh foods. In their free time, Goose loves to read, bike, rock climb, explore the city, and listen to music. Goose can be reached at:[email protected]

 

Frankie Meyers

INSTALLATION Crew

Frankie grew up in Wisconsin and attended UW-Milwaukee where she earned a degree in Astrophysics and minored in Conservation and Environmental Sciences. She moved to Maryland in 2022 to join her partner after spending a year in Utah working as a crew leader for the Utah Conservation Corps. She gained interest in gardening during a college summer job where she tended raised vegetable gardens and assisted in an orchard, and after missing a volunteer opportunity at a local urban garden due to the pandemic, she is excited to get the opportunity to work for Love & Carrots. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing, hiking, crocheting, and spending time with her partner.  

Franco Rodrigo Estrada Pravdic

INSTALLATION CREW

Franco Rodrigo grew up in Huanchaco, Peru, a small surfing and fishing village where everyone is very connected to the land and the sea. It is important to him to respect pachamama, or the mother earth, and he is happiest when he is in nature. Franco moved to the U.S. in 2019, and to D.C. in 2023. He is excited to be part of the Love & Carrots team to learn more about urban agriculture. In his free time, Franco enjoys cooking, hiking, biking, skateboarding, surfing, playing with his three-year-old daughter, and sleeping.

Lauren Paulsen

INSTALLATION Crew

Lauren’s interest in building started deep in the scrap bin of her fathers wood shop in North Carolina. Graduating from the wood shop to the metal shop, she has been welding steel furniture for local residents and businesses for the last 7 years. Her two loves, construction and plants, have come together in Love & Carrots, which is why she is excited to expand sustainable urban green spaces throughout the DMV. On the weekends, you can usually find her baking sourdough bread, doing the crossword, or riding her bike to a brewery.