What counts as local?
We purposefully do not set a strict distance guideline on what it means to be local. Many “buy local” campaigns are state-run, and define “local” as “within the state.” We understand that state boundaries do not follow ecological zones or watersheds, and that a four-hour drive in the Northeast may take you through four states while a similar drive in the Midwest or West may only begin to explore one. We are happy to buy from Massachusetts growers in the Pioneer River Valley (which is called the Connecticut River Valley once it crosses the state line), and we are happy to buy from growers in New York State in the Hudson River Valley. While they are not farming in the state of Connecticut, we feel that buying from them represents a more sound ecological choice than buying from a source 2,000 miles away. We are reliant on some ingredients that cannot be produced in our region or our climate. When this is the case we try to buy organic and fairly traded ingredients. Our chocolate, bananas,
