Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Herkimer County produces the Herkimer County Local Foods Map each year. It began in 2002 as a ‘Farm Produce and Tourism’ map, switching over to exclusively local food in 2009.

The objective of creating this map has been to connect producers with consumers of local foods that are grown/produced in Herkimer County. We list producers on the map at no cost. Farms have enough expenses, so the free advertising that we provide is one less thing they have to pay for. There is no paid advertising on the map, allowing more room to highlight the items produced in our county.

We know that there are many benefits to eating local foods. Fresher foods taste better and are often more nutritious than foods that have traveled many miles and days to get to our table. This also helps preserve farming as a livelihood and rural landscapes as farmland. When we buy directly from local producers, our dollars stay within our community and strengthen the local economy. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed empty shelves at grocery stores. Purchasing directly from a local farmstand eliminated the supply chain issues that plagued the big chain stores.