Our Values

Local Roots NYC Markets are a vibrant meeting place every week that pops up in neighborhood bars, cafes, or your place of work.

Think of us as a hybrid market. Similar to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), you have the option to subscribe to a season's worth of produce, offering you a strong relationship to your farmer.  We offer the same engagement and social nature of a farmers market so you can chat with neighbors and ask our staff about cooking tips. We offer a home delivery option for added convenience.

We think meal-kits can be a great way to get you introduced to cooking and that online grocery shopping is convenient, but here are a couple of things that make us different.

No unnecessary packaging
No pre-portioned ingredients so you can cook beyond a specific recipe
Quick commute from farm to you vs. sitting in storage for days
Food transparency with seasonal farm visits

Local Roots NYC is built on a value system that honors high quality foods, community, empowerment, local economies, innovation, active optimism, transparency, convenience, kindness, and authenticity.

We hope to encourage others to also embrace the other forms of capital we all contribute to our society to move beyond financially dependent relationships.

Local Roots NYC is a small, mission-driven business here to serve our fellow New Yorkers and regional growers. Below are some values we hold close to our hearts and are committed to providing you.

 

HIGH QUALITY
Your food is fresh. Harvested the day before and brought from a local farm directly to you, it does not sit in storage for days which can be the case for many super markets and online grocery stores. That means it's packed with flavor and super fresh. We also taste test our farmers' produce before we commit to working with them to ensure they are skilled at producing the most delicious foods for you. Yup, that's right - not all local food is made the same, and we only work with the best.

COMMUNITY

Meet other food loving New Yorkers while picking up each week at our markets. Swap recipes, food storage tips, or simply just enjoy sharing a NY minute with others around a table of beautiful produce. 

CONVENIENCE
Grab a beer or coffee with friends after you pick up your Local Roots foods and turn grocery shopping from an errand into a fun, social event. Can't make it to one of our markets? Select home delivery and get the farm brought right to you.

We help with decision fatigue by curating weekly shares with our local producers and the seasons to bring you the highest quality foods, so you don't have to choose between endless options and sift through unripe and damaged products. Avoid wandering the aisles of supermarkets and impulse buys. Subscribing to our Farm Share means your grocery shopping is already done; all you have to do is pick it up every week. 

You also won't have to scour the internet looking through all the different organic labels and trying to find the best products. Everything you get from Local Roots is freshly harvested and produced, packed with flavor and nutrition. Since 2011, we've been a brand New Yorkers trust for local, fresh, and sustainable foods. 

 
With over 20 locations throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan and an option for delivery, it's the most convenient way to get fresh food away from the farm. 

You've got a whole community of New Yorkers who are cooking with the same ingredients every week; check out our instagram to see what others are making with their Local Roots food or peruse our collection of recipes submitted by fellow Local Roots members and NYC chefs. Our staff are all passionate home cooks who can offer you dish ideas while you pick up your food and we've also got recipe cards ready for you each week.

Traveling but still want to join a Farm Share or CSA? You can put your order on hold so you can explore the world without stressing about your food.

SUSTAINABILITY

Our farmers utilize sustainable growing practices and are responsible stewards of the land. They are committed to nurturing their soils so it is fertile for years to come. Any food waste is used to feed animals or is composted and put back into the land. We work with producers within 2 hrs of NYC, which means we are cutting down on unnecessary gas miles. Your food also has minimal packaging, if any, and we ask you to bring your own reusable bag to pick up your food each week which means minimal plastic. Unlike other companies that create food waste due to over-ordering, our markets are predominantly subscription based through our markets so we only order have as much food as we have customers.

 

FIGHTING FOOD WASTE

Every year in the United States, six billion pounds of perfectly good fruits and vegetables go to waste due to being "imperfect" or growing abundantly on the farm without a market to sell at or staff to harvest. There's other reasons food gets tossed or overlooked; 85% of our food waste is on the consumer end. Often, we throw away food because it’s been sitting out too long or we don’t know how to store it properly. We're fighting food waste on all fronts by offering a Zero Food Waste share of produce that would normally be discarded, and providing culinary education of how to cook all parts of your vegetables from stem to leaf. 

LIFE-LONG RELATIONSHIPS

Nowadays, it seems impossible to find a real person to speak to at a company, which is why we take our customer service seriously. We're here to help you out, answer questions about farms and cooking, and to also be a new pal.  

Our farmers are the family we get to choose so we build relationships with the future in mind. As a Local Roots member, we hope you'll also think of your farmers and producers as part of your extended fam.