Bringing fresh groceries from the farm to the table

From fresh fruits and vegetables to humanely raised meats and poultry, food lovers in Sea Cliff will have an opportunity to choose from an array of grocery items this summer. OurHarvest, an online food market dedicated to serving farm-fresh,

organic cuisine, recently announced that it will deliver groceries to Sea Cliff residents on Sundays from to 8 to 10 a.m.

“We’re always looking for various communities across Long Island,” said Michael Winik, OurHarvest’s co-founder and CEO. “Sea Cliff seems to have a very young, up-and-coming community, and we’re very excited to be a part of that.”

Groceries are delivered from local farms straight to homes, sometimes just a few hours after they are harvested.

Winik got to know the village earlier this year when his company started a partnership with Sea Cliff Elementary School to provide grocery service for the village. When the school year ended, residents were still requesting food, which gave the company the idea to add the village to its coverage area.

Winik added that OurHarvest’s online menu comprises more than 600 choices of fresh, all-natural” food, such as Sun Gold tomatoes, black cherry yogurt and small-batch baked treats.

“All of their items look very fresh,” said Cathi Turow, of Sea Cliff, “and a lot of them you don’t have to cook.”

Turow said that OurHarvest’s menu features several tasty items that are hard to find in the village, including crushed tomatoes in a jar, pickled Brussels sprouts, sugar-free pumpkin spice and purple radishes. “I think OurHarvest is something that’s exciting for the village, and I think this would be a wonderful gift for someone who enjoys cooking,” she said.

OurHarvest also gives back to the community in a variety of ways. For every order placed in the village, it donates a percentage of the sales to Sea Cliff Elementary School. In addition, for every order over $25, it will donate food to a local pantry.

“The whole idea is to create a system where the customer gets a better product, the farmers themselves are getting paid more for their product and the community gets all the benefits,” Winik said. “It’s a win for farmers, a win for consumers and a win for the community.”

Winik got the idea to start the company when he realized the challenges farmers face to make ends meet, and that groceries can sometimes be too expensive for customers. “The whole concept of OurHarvest was started to solve those problems,” he said.

Before he launched the company in 2014, he explained, he spent a year surveying Long Island communities to get a better sense of the needs of customers and farmers. He said that meeting with school PTAs, churches and other local groups was also helpful. His goal for OurHarvest is to connect with some of the neighboring communities on the North Shore. “We’re trying to put our footprint on as many places as we can,” he said, “and getting more people to shop with us is our goal.”

Winik added that Glen Cove would be another community that “fits perfectly” with OurHarvest. “We feel like there’s a lot that we can do in that community to make a big difference,” he said. “There’s a huge group of people who would love to have access to our amazing products.”

Sea Cliff residents can check out the company’s menu at www.OurHarvest.com.