Helping You Eat Healthier Restaurant/Farm Review #4

Helping You Eat Healthier

                         Review #4

Welcome to the fourth review of a restaurant or farm in our healthy eating series. If you missed the first three posts that outline the criteria for healthy eating, they can be seen by just scrolling back a couple of posts. For our fourth review we chose a farm that is a great resource for 100% certified organic produce!

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Mattawoman Creek Farms

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Mattawoman Creek Farms is a 44-acre USDA certified organic vegetable, herb and fruit farm. Their farm has been 100% certified organic since they began farming in 2005. They grow over 60 different crops a year offering a wide variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs, which are all grown using organic and sustainable farming methods.

They periodically have on-farm events where they conduct farm tours and sell their organic produce and plants. This occurs about 2-3 times a year; you can look for these events on their website. Occasionally, they will offer their organic produce for sale through their online store. A great thing is that they sell their organic seedlings starting mid April to the end of May, so you can farm your own produce. Mattawoman Creek Farms will often sell their organic produce at Whole Foods Market in Newport News and Virginia Beach, Westside Produce and Provisions, and they also attend both Old Beach Farmers Market and Cape Charles Farmers Market at the Museum on a regular basis. Throughout the year, some of their organic produce can be found at restaurants such as Captain Groovy's Grill and Raw Bar, Chartreuse Bistro, The Shanty, Simple Eats, Taste, Terrapin Restaurant, Croc's and The Cutting Edge Cafe. 

Mattawoman Creek Farm grows and sells their produce all year long. A way to receive their produce throughout the year would be to join their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. A CSA program is where consumers support a local farm by subscribing and paying a seasonal fee in exchange for receiving fresh local produce. Mattawoman Creek Farm subscribers can pick up their portion of the harvest at one of several pick up points. There are three pickup locations in Virginia Beach, one in Norfolk, one in Chesapeake and four on the Eastern Shore. 

Mattawoman Creek Farm's main focus is and has always been human health and the environment's health. Their growing methods promote healthy soil and marshlands, and support the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. Mattawoman Creek Farm proudly displays the USDA organic symbol because they meet all of the organic standards for all their crops. Their compliance with these standards is independently certified by Quality Assurance International (QAI). Visit their website at https://www.mattawomancreekfarms.com/ for more information.