Blossom Bakery and Cafe

Bakery in Washington, DC

Address

1823 West Virginia Ave NE, Washington, DC, 20002

Phone

(202) 591-0050

Website

blossombakery.org

About Blossom Bakery and Cafe

Blossom Bakery is a certified 501(c)(3) non-profit bakery based at 1823 West Virginia Avenue NE in Washington, DC, dedicated to selling fresh-baked, high-quality food in areas of the city that are underserved by healthful food options. The bakery makes soft cookies and comfort foods in small batches using locally sourced ingredients when possible, with a focus on flavor and quality. Beyond baking, Blossom's core mission is workforce development: the team is made up of historically underemployed individuals, including returning citizens, who are trained in a supportive, growth-driven kitchen environment that builds both technical baking skills and soft skills such as interpersonal communication and active listening. Blossom sells its goods through retail partners including Good Food Market and Broadbranch Market, through wholesale with Dreaming Out Loud, via online ordering, and at community farmers markets such as the East End Market in Ward 7 and the Ward 8 Farmers Market at MLK Elementary School. The organization is also preparing to launch a food truck to expand its reach into Wards 7 and 8. Blossom Bakery uses a sliding pricing scale, where prices vary based on where the food is sold rather than by the product itself, an approach intended to make economic sense while addressing the social inequities that created DC's food deserts. The bakery views food as a bridge to community, connection, and healing, and works as part of a broader local food ecosystem east of the Anacostia River aimed at correcting the wrongs of the past.

Blossom Bakery was founded as a non-profit with a dual mission: to sell fresh, quality baked goods in parts of Washington, DC that lack access to healthful food and industry, and to create a growth-driven workplace for people who have historically faced barriers to employment, including returning citizens. Rather than treating food simply as a product, Blossom frames it as a bridge to community, connection, correction, and healing, positioning the bakery as part of a larger effort to build a local food ecosystem east of the Anacostia River that helps right the wrongs of the American past. The organization pairs its baking operation with hands-on training in kitchen skills and customer-facing soft skills like communication and active listening, aiming to build employees' pride, resiliency, and long-term growth. Its sliding-scale pricing model, in which cost varies by where the food is sold rather than by the item, reflects that same mission of economic and social correction. As it has grown, Blossom has expanded from retail and wholesale partnerships into neighborhood farmers markets in Wards 7 and 8, and is now preparing a mobile food truck to deepen its presence in those communities.

Services

• baked goods
• cookies
• wholesale orders
• farmers market sales
• workforce training

Photos