Inside the Howbarrow Farm Shop
Photo courtesy of Martin Campbell, Artisan Food, Cumbria
Click on photo to go to www.artisan-food.com
About Howbarrow Farm
Howbarrow is situated one and a half miles from the village of Cartmel, near Grange over Sands, Cumbria. It was the 1999 winner of the South Lakeland Sustainable Business Award for the company demonstrating environmental ‘best practice’ and a commitment to business sustainability.
Howbarrow is part of the Soil Association Open Farms Network. Walk our farm trail, enjoy the countryside and see how we are working towards a better quality of life and more sustainable use of natural resources ( read more about our farm trail and how to get to us).
We are registered and comply with the rigorous standards of the Soil Association. This involves keeping accurate traceable records and undergoing an annual inspection.
A key principle of organic farming is to manage the land as naturally as possible. Food production involves farming without the use of herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilisers, antibiotics, growth promoters or genetically modified organisms.
Livestock on the farm includes Jacob sheep, 2 rare breed Saddleback pigs (weaners), traditional blue/grey suckler cows with calves and turkeys for Christmas (orders are being taken for 2006 free-range turkeys). We also grow an extensive range of seasonal organic vegetables, herbs and fruit.
Our aim is to sell high quality organic produce, to local customers, competitively priced, direct from the farm and local outlets.
The Howbarrow team, from left to right, Julia, Dave, Seb, Dominic, Jo, Reg, Paul and Sheila
Photo courtesy of Martin Campbell, Artisan Food, Cumbria
Click on photo to go to www.artisan-food.com
Locally
You can order our boxes of seasonal organic vegetables through the following shops: “Pastures New” in Barrow in Furness,”I Love Organics” in Kendal, “Waterslack Garden Centre” near Arnside, The Village bakery at Melmerby and The Watermill at Little Salkeld. You can also visit our farm trail which is open all year round, and the farm shop, which is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm. Shop online via our secure online shopping facility. See our complete range of produce at our Organic Food in Cumbria page.
Alternatively, we offer a local box scheme with its own newsletter, now delivering to the following areas: Kendal, Windermere, Staveley, Penrith, Shap, Ambleside, Grasmere, Keswick, Hawkshead, Grange-over-Sands, Ulverston, Barrow in Furness, Kirkby Lonsdale, Milnthorpe, Carnforth, Lancaster and Bolton le Sands. We are always expanding our rounds, so please contact us to find out if your area is covered.
Where to eat organic in Cumbria
The “World Peace Cafe” in Ulverston uses Howbarrow grown and distributed produce as part of its commitment to using 100% organic ingredients in the cafe. We also deliver to the “Manjushri Kadampa Buddhist Centre” at the Priory in Ulverston, “The Lancrigg Vegetarian Hotel” in Grasmere, “The Watermill” at Little Salkeld and “I Love Organics” in Kendal.
Bed & Breakfast
Bed and Breakfast is available on Howbarrow farm – see our B&B; information.
Volunteers
Howbarrow is a member of WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and welcomes members from around the world. Volunteers work on the farm in exchange for food and accommodation. If you are interested, would like more details or wish to visit please contact us.
THE WEBSITE
The Howbarrow website is managed by ourselves, as we wanted to be able to update it and add to it regularly and easily. There has been a flurry of activity on it recently with new pages added, latest news and information and, hopefully, clearer instructions on how to use the online shop. We welcome any feedback (good or bad!) and also any suggestions on improving or adding to the site. We use TYPO 3 free shareware to manage the site (which is a great resource if you are planning to manage your own site), the professional services of Alan Jewitt at www.webbynumbers.co.uk, based in Kendal, for the really technical bits that we can’t sort out, and Mal’s e-commerce for the secure payment processing.
What our customers say….
Robert Whittington, Lancrigg Country House Hotel, Grasmere
“Oh, what a delight to the eye! The superb fresh quality of crates of Howbarrow produce. And the grapes…with the artistic hanging leaves. If they hadn’t been so tasty they would have lasted long enough to make a painting! Thanks for the finest vegetables in the land”.
S., Burton-in-Kendal
“I would just like to say how much I enjoyed the last fruit and veg boxes – more variety, instead of a lot of 3 or 4 items – [which is] sometimes too much for one person, especially apples and potatoes”.
C., Lancaster
“All my good wishes are going your way on 16 September [our 10th Birthday Party]…..It is so wonderful what you do. All my good wishes and thanks for being there. All the best for a brilliant future”.
J., Morecambe
“My wife and I are really chuffed that we’ve at last found a decent supplier in our quest to switch to organic food and were more than pleased with the quality of the goods that you supplied us with. After years of shopping at those grotty and homogonised supermarket chains, doing business with you marks a refreshing change”.
A. & B., Kendal
“Hi Howbarrow Team,
We, as “lost-and-found” customers, got our first delivery today.
We are very happy with the choice & quality of the veg; if that continues we are certainly back as your loyal customers!
Great improvements!
Thanks!”