Which Broccoli City Fest was your personal favorite and why?

Brandon McEachern: That’s a hard one. Last year was special to me because we had Erykah [Badu] there. That was surreal. I’m gonna say probably the 2013 one with Big KRIT. That was “The One.” That’s when I realized this thing here got some legs to it.

We know the festival is an annual event thrown by Broccoli City, but what are some other ventures you guys do throughout the year?

Brandon McEachern: We’re actually getting ready to do this big collaboration. That s*** is gonna be fire! We’re gonna have some of those golf hats with a single piece of broccoli on it. After the festival we’re going launch our online store with super affordable merch on there. Sports bras, active wear, stuff like that.

Along with taking care of the environment and eating right, you’ve also used the festival as a platform for the Black Lives Matter movement. How else has Broccoli City contributed to the black community?

Brandon McEachern: Everything we do. It’s always about us. All the work we’ve been doing has been for the African American community. We did the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Blvd Clean Up in Ward 8 just last weekend. We collaborated with DC Kitchen in regards to working with the inmates and things of that nature. We prepared food for the homeless. Even earlier this year we did the Black Panther: Vangaurd Evolution Screening at Bus Boys and Poets.

Anything that will elevate us a people, we’re gonna do.

Where do you hope to see Broccoli City in 5 years?

Brandon McEachern: In the next five years, I’d really love to see Broccoli City everywhere. I want to start doing farmer markets. We already do a small one in D.C., but I want to see it everywhere. And I don’t necessarily only mean the event, I mean within people. We talked about the delicate balance between the burger and the salad. I got people who call me to tell me they were about to litter and they say, ‘That wouldn’t be Broccoli City of me.’ That’s what I mean by I want to see it everywhere.