Our success as a fine food distributor is rooted in the relationships we have built with the hundreds of small farmers and food purveyors in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts and beyond. To fill seasonal gaps, we have taken this same direct approach with California, Canadian, Florida and other regions, running direct trucks to get you the freshest produce and provisions at the best negotiated price. Read some of their stories here.
The mission: great-tasting lettuce that’s available year-round. Local lettuce means making salads with a significantly smaller footprint than California mixes. These hearty little greens are free of GMOs, pesticides, and other chemicals. Because these lettuces are seeded, grown, cut, and packaged without ever being in contact with human hands, the need for triple-washing with chlorine-based chemicals is eliminated. The climate-controlled greenhouses make it possible to grow these baby greens 365 days out of the year, even in the coldest New England months.
The largest Aquaponic Greenhouse in New England, Springworks Farm grows organic greens year-round using 95% less water than a conventional farm. The sustainable aquaponic process works like this: tanks of fish are fed nutritious feed which turns into organic waste. The waste is filtered and refined into fertilizer and pumped into the greenhouse. The plants filter the water to the point that it is so clean that it can be pumped back into the fish tanks, and the cycle repeats. No chemicals. No soil contaminants. No pesticides. The result is fresh, clean lettuce with no waste; each crispy leaf in the pack is as delicious as the next.
Running on 100% solar power, this 200-acre apple orchard is on a mission to grow amazing apples that delight all five senses. They produce several apple varieties, including Cortland, Empire, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Macoun, McIntosh, Paula Red, and Red Delicious. They’ve been completely solar powered since 2016, and that includes growing, packing, and refrigeration. Their solar fields also create a nice habitat for many important pollinators, which helps keep the ecosystem running smoothly. Located in Cornwall, Vermont, Sunrise Orchards is IPM certified, and family owned.
Grandma Stone sums it up best: “Just plenty of Vermont air, cold nights, good feed and tender loving care on our family farm.” Over the past 30 years, Stonewood Farms may have grown their flock to 34,000 turkeys per year, but they have never relented on their sustainable farming practices, humane treatment of their birds including turkey friendly, open-sided barns to provide plenty of fresh and sunlight. All of that and no hormones or antibiotics make for birds that are happier and ultimately tastier.
Misty Knoll Farms • New Haven, VT
Family farmed, free range Vermont poultry that is hormone free, antibiotic free and vegetarian fed. At Misty Knoll Farms, turkeys and chickens are free to roam throughout spacious, specially designed turkey houses, with access to abundant feed, water and fresh air. Allowed to grow naturally to size, Misty Knoll birds are robust and meatier. As a result of this clean, stress-free environment, and a healthy diet that nature intended, Misty Knoll birds are healthier and better tasting. View Misty Knoll Farms items carried by Black River Produce.
