My nutritional philosophy is pretty simple. You should eat as if your life depends on it, because it does! Every living cell in your body counts on food to fuel it so the quality and quantity of that food actually makes a huge difference. Am I a food saint? Far from it! I love french fries more than I like asparagus and Chewy Sprees will always make a Hallelujah chorus go off in my mouth. But I try to cook more than I eat out or order in. It is not just that cooking is far more wallet-friendly than pre-prepared options, but for me, controlling the ingredients and how those ingredients come together is important. I admit, food is one of my strongest love languages. It is the way I tell people how much I love them. So, this blog post is to encourage you to stop looking for where Doritos live and go out and meet your local farmer.
Although all of my readers are not from RVA, I am introducing you to one of my local farmers, Greg Riggs (called Farmer Greg affectionately about town). In 2010, Greg founded Field of Dreams Farm with the goal of providing his community with the freshest, naturally grown produce and a great skills based learning program surrounding food. So far, he has worked with over 40 schools and 15,000 children. Field of Dreams still functions as a working farm but has morphed into a cooperative of over 60 local producing farms committed to growing the best local produce. The farm partners use all natural growing methods for plants and all organic fertilizers to grow the healthiest food for you. Some are certified organic (not all), but all are GAP certified. GAP is the acronym for Good Agricultural Practices. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) are voluntary audits that verify that fruits and vegetables are produced, packed, handled, and stored as safely as possible to minimize risks of microbial food safety hazards. GAP farms are audited every 15 months to maintain the GAP certification. And typically, what makes for better nutrients for the consumer also equates to better farming practices for the earth.
But I am getting ahead of myself…Greg has not always been a farmer. He is a father of 3, a husband, and has a wealth of varied experience. And when I say varied, I mean it. He has been a haberdasher in Williamson, West Virginia and has worked for Brooks Brothers too. He was trained at General Electric and ran his own technology company for 25 years. To say Greg is chatty is an understatement but underneath his friendly chatter is the heart of a food zealot. He almost always has a big smile and is quick to offer you a sample to entice you to becoming a believer too. For him, the fervor he feels now originated when he read a report from the CDC in 2008 that predicted that for the first time, children in America could not expect to live longer than their parents. The report struck a chord with him that he has not been able to shake off.
So with the CDC report playing on repeat in his mind, he started Field of Dreams Farm in 2010. Just like the movie, he had faith that “if I build it, they will come.” While his farm was still in its infancy, Greg spotted an ice cream truck. He was struck by the idea of bringing fresh fruit and vegetables to neighborhoods and supplying people with the food that could help build and sustain health. Greg then created a Sprout About Mobile Market (SAMM) that does just that. He has had markets at multiple area hospitals and other locations. But with the dawn of the Covid era, markets were no longer possible so everything went online. Greg currently serves 3 Richmond neighborhoods where people order online and the SAMM comes to a neighborhood pick-up point one afternoon a week. He still has room to service 2 more neighborhoods a week. If your neighborhood could support about 30 orders a week, contact Greg via the website below or by cell at 804.332.7000.
The eggs from his cooperative are heavenly and have very little resemblance to grocery store eggs. The corn on the cob is swoon worthy. The pasture raised beef is amazing! The melons, tomatoes, berries, Oh MY! I hope when you find your local farmer, he/she will be as talented as mine!