Herndon Welcomes Mom’s Organic Market

There is something unique about a company that is passionate—or perhaps fanatical—about 100 percent organic products, fresh local produce, and helping the environment, as well as inspiring the community where they are located to become more “green-minded.”

Herndon is celebrating the arrival of MOM’s Organic Market (that is where the “M-O-M” comes from). The store’s grand opening begins Friday, at 9 a.m. and lasts through the weekend.

The owner, Scott Nash, started the company in 1987 as a home-delivery/mail order company out of his mom’s garage. (So, in the beginning, there was a “mom.”) The Herndon location is their eighth store, and all of the stores are in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Deliveries begin arriving as early as 2 a.m. to the Herndon store, and many vendors deliver every morning. Produce managers purposely keep their bins smaller, and sort through produce daily, making sure the produce is always fresh. “We have 100 percent organic produce every day, including fresh grown local produce in season,” according to their produce manager. The store will also feature local and craft beers, as well as wine from organic, sustainable and local producers. They have wine tastings scheduled Friday and Saturday.

Onions, butternut squash and russet potatoes will be on sale for 99 cents per pound this weekend (that’s quite a bit cheaper than other regular grocery stores in the area). They also have bulk organic flax seeds on sale for $1.59 per lb. This market will also “match” advertised prices at any other markets. “No need to bring in their ads, because we just call them to verify the price, making it very easy for the customer,” said Julie, their marketing director.

For people on special diets, where some specific ingredients must be avoided, just mention this to the Customer Service desk and they will give you a “shopping” list of recommended products that will end your endless reading of labels.

For those of us who are uninformed, what exactly is organic?

Soren Huber, MOM’s Regional Produce Buyer, says organic means that the “farmers do not use herbicides or pesticides on their crops, however, they have many non-toxic ways of deterring pests.” And yes, very rarely, consumers will find a spot from a bug on a piece of produce. But, remember, finding something on a piece of produce “is a good sign that it is organic. MOM’s offers a 100 percent satisfaction on all their products, and will happily replace anything not satisfactory. After all, pests know what’s best.”

It does not stop there. MOM’s Herndon will use 100 percent wind power by purchasing wind-power “credits” from the local power company, so no windmills on top of their store. Check out the two new electric car charging stations out front, where you can plug your car in while you shop.

Samples? Come early Friday for free Uncle Matt’s Organic Orange Juice (while supplies last).

Scheduled vendor demonstrations with samples during the grand-opening weekend include:

Trickling Springs Creamery (Chambersburg, PA) supplies butter, cheese and MOM’s private label milk, including cream-line whole milk, and Latimore Valley (York Springs, PA) will offer apple cider, apple sauce and apple juice.

Meatballs made from Grayson Natural Foods which is a company comprised of local beef producers that offer local pasture-raised beef products from a group of family farms in and around Grayson County, VA.

B’more Organic (based out of Baltimore) will be sampling their protein-packed smoothies, and Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company is sampling coffee on Friday morning.

BT Baking Company (Lansdowne, PA) will offer free samples of their chewy brownies on Friday, Oct. 28th. MOM’s is running a special buy-one-get-one-free deal on their brownies throughout the weekend. (BT Baking uses organic ingredients, fair trade chocolate, hormone free dairy products and unrefined sugar in their brownies.)

Since this is also apple season, they will feature Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith apples. “Finding sources of certified organic ‘local’ apples has proven difficult. Not many local certified organic growers are in our (Herndon) area, and quality can be a challenge around here with tree fruit and berries in particular,” according to Huber.

Their website, www.MomsOrganicMarket.com has a lot of very useful recipes for their fresh products. Their garlic-roasted chicken is delicious (see the recipe below).

Huber's emails have the perfect footnote. “There’s only two things that money can’t buy: True love and home grown tomatoes.”

MOM’s Garlic Roasted Chicken (serves 4)
1 roasting chicken, rinsed and patted dry
6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
Peeled halved carrots, peeled whole onions, and whole potatoes (skin on)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Loosen the skin of the chicken over the breasts and make a small slit in the skin over the legs. Insert two garlic halves under the skin of the legs, along with some of the thyme, and remaining garlic and thyme over the breasts as evenly spaced as possible. Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken and place in a roasting pan with a wire rack. Halved carrots, onions and potatoes can cook along with the chicken in the same pan for an easy way to add vegetables to your meal. Bake in the oven for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Remove the skin and serve with the cooked garlic.