2025 John Egerton Prize Winners: Erin Washington and Erica Washington
FreshGreens Market is the formulation of two sisters dedicated to making fresh food accessible to the community on the west side of Montgomery. Erin Washington is a creative and scholar; Erica Washington is a farmer, herbalist, and real estate and community developer.
Together, Erin and Erica established their organic urban farm and market on the exact spot where their great-grandfather opened a grocery store in the early 1940s. Using sustainable and organic growing practices, the ecosystem of FreshGreens Urban Farm produces a variety of organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, and greens. They grow on about 2 acres at several farm sites on the West Side of Montgomery.
FreshGreens Market seeks to make fresh, nutritious, and organic fruits and vegetables accessible to low-income communities in Alabama. They engage and connect local black farmers to urban consumers. They educate community members on how to grow their own food, and they teach ways to eat and live a healthier life. Their collective work brings together art, food sovereignty, and economic empowerment to their community.
SFA is pleased to present the 2025 John Egerton Prize to Erin Michelle Washington and Erica Washington, founders of FreshGreens Urban Farm and FreshGreens Market in Montgomery, Alabama.
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The John Egerton Prize, endowed by SFA member contributions, awards $5,000 each year to those people or organizations in the American South who exhibit exceptional creativity, apply the rubric of food and drink to their work, and show the potential to make a genuine difference in one or more fields.
To share the story of the Egerton Prize winner, SFA also produces a film. The 2025 film, directed by Sydney Foster, premiered at the 2025 Southern Foodways Symposium in Birmingham, AL, on October 25.
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2025 John Egerton Prize
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