Local Food on
Every Plate
Marty's Local
EST. 2016
The Marty's Local Story
Founded in 2016, Marty’s Local exists to celebrate local - local food, local businesses, and local people. In 2019, we joined operations with Squash, Inc., a pioneer in the “Local First” movement since the 1970s. That shared mission guides everything we do, every single day.
2025
Business West
2024
Edible
Berkshires
2024
Local Hero Awardee
2024
Farm Fields to School Lunches
2024
Recycling
Works
What is a regional food system,
and why does it matter?
The farmers and food producers in New England and New York can grow, raise, and make almost anything. This enormous variety of delicious and healthy foods is right here, all within a day’s drive and often much closer. By supporting these businesses, we’re growing our local economies, eating marvelously flavorful and nourishing foods, promoting sustainable agriculture, protecting farmland, and celebrating the rich heritage of our region.
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What is a regional food system, and why does it matter? From our perspective, a regional food system is the network of people and businesses and land and seeds and animals that take food from the conceptual stage to our mouths. It’s a “regional” system if it sensibly makes use of the resources that are nearby and accessible. The food system we choose for ourselves matters because it directly and significantly impacts our economy, our health, and our environment. As Wendell Berry wrote, “eating is an agricultural act.”
We believe in the quality and the unique tastes of the foods we can grow and produce right here in our region. We want to facilitate a flourishing of flavors and health and character in our foods. We want to foster the curious bakers and the flexible chefs. And we believe in transparency: knowing who grew and raised your food, how they did it, how it was prepared, and what it costs.
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We care about what seeds were used, the people planning and planting, weeding and harvesting and packing, the land on which it was grown and raised, the truckers moving it from the farm to the kitchen, the chefs creating, and the experience you have eating it. We live here, too, and we believe good food is all around us.
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Marty’s Local is honored to have the opportunity to support the thousands of terrific farmers and food producers doing hard work all around us. They’re our neighbors, and we believe in them.