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We get several requests a day from locals who want to sell their products in our stores

For that reason it can be competitive based on what you have. It's not enough to simply make a local product and have it grace the shelves of our stores. Our customers come to us because they lend us a lot of trust to source products of the highest quality made by local producers. You'll need to bring your A-game...and for some products, the proper permits & labeling.

Our management team has extensive food production, distribution, and marketing expertise resulting in nearly $400 million in career fresh food sales. They will be honest about your product and whether it is a good fit for our store. It's not that we are mean, however, we are serving a very specific customer base and have very specific goals/needs for what is on the shelf. Not all products will be a match.

We give preference to local products that are MADE FROM OTHER LOCAL PRODUCTS. The more local ingredients in your product, the better chance you have. For example, if you buy bulk orange pekoe tea from Amazon and split it up into smaller packages with your own label/packaging...we aren't the store for you so don't even ask. If you make teas from local herbs and native plants...THAT's your foot in the door.

We rarely have time to respond to phone calls, social media messages, or e-mails about sourcing products...it's too hard to know if a product makes the cut that way. For best results, visit a store.

Produce

Produce is probably one of the easiest things to sell in our stores. Mostly because you don't need special licenses, permits, or even packaging to at least get your foot in the door.

What we look for:

• Only produce grown in NM is allowed to be sold in our stores
• We stock products from farmers of all sizes from backyard to very large.
• No pesticides, petrochemical fertilizers, or other harmful products used on the live or harvested produce
• Farmers must fill out a vendor info sheet so we can tell the customers where certain produce comes from
• Must be able to deliver to any Farm To You retail location during open business hours
• We may site visit your farm at any time
• Produce doesn't have to be perfect...but it can't be old, bruised/discolored, excessive cracking, or generally un-appealing in appearance unless it's a characteristic of that variety.
• We may have to limit how much we buy for certain produce until we can determine if it will sell to our customer base

Baked goods

We're extremely limited on baked goods that we take. Note that if you bake anything at your home under the Homemade Food Act we CANNOT purchase those items...by law you must sell them directly to an end customer.

What we look for:

• Products made with other local ingredients are best.
• Smaller startup brands are preferred over established products that have already "made it" and can be found on bigger grocery store shelves
• Must be produced in a permitted kitchen under an approved business for the product
• All labeling and packaging must be, complete, accurate, and compliant under federal and local regulations
• Currently we are mostly looking for the following:
  • Sourdough
  • Crackers
  • Sliced or loaf breads (plain or artisan)
• Must be able to deliver to any Farm To You retail location during open business hours
• We may site visit your kitchen at any time
• Shelf stable without molding for at least 7 to 10 days. Cooler and freezer space is limited and we may make exceptions for VERY HIGH QUALITY items that display well in a glass front cooler/freezer.

Candies, snacks, confections

These we stock on a case-by-case basis and give preference to items with long shelf lives and packaging that can sit on a flat surface without support or in a slide mechanism. Note that if you make them at your home under the Homemade Food Act we CANNOT purchase those items...by law you must sell them directly to an end customer

What we look for:

• High quality ingredients. Most of our customers dislike seed oils, preservatives, and especially things that can't be pronounced. The simpler the ingredient list, the better.
• Products made with other local ingredients are best.
• Smaller startup brands are preferred over established products that have already "made it" and can be found on bigger grocery store shelves
• Must be produced in a permitted kitchen under an approved business for the product
• All labeling and packaging must be complete, accurate, and compliant under federal and local regulations
• Must be able to deliver to any Farm To You retail location during open business hours
• We may site visit your kitchen/facility at any time
• Only products that can sit out on the retail floor are generally considered. It is rare that we'll have the space for items needing refrigeration or freezing; you'll have to bring in a sample to a store and see if what you have works for our store format if it is not a dry storage good.

Salsas, jams, and jellies

We probably won't take these...there are so many and most are already stocked in stores all over the state and online. We will only take the time looking for SPECIALTY products in this category. Emphasis on the "special" part!

If we do want your salsa, jam, or jelly....this is what we look for:

• Very unique products made of the highest quality ingredients from a smaller producer who IS NOT in major/regional grocery stores.
• We are more likely to try out the following:
  • Mustards
  • Ketchups
  • Mayonnaises
• Products made with other local ingredients are best.
• Smaller startup brands are preferred over established products that have already "made it" and can be found on bigger grocery store shelves
• Must be produced in a permitted kitchen under an approved business for the product
• All labeling and packaging must be complete, accurate, and compliant under federal and local regulations
• Must be able to deliver to any Farm To You retail location during open business hours
• We may site visit your kitchen/facility at any time
• Only products that can sit out on the retail floor are generally considered. It is rare that we'll have the space for items needing refrigeration or freezing; you'll have to bring in a sample to a store and see if what you have works for our store format if it is not a dry storage good.

Beverages

This is another very competitive category.

What we look for:

• High quality ingredients. Most of our customers dislike preservatives and things that can't be pronounced. The simpler the ingredient list, the better.
• Products made with other local ingredients are best.
• Smaller startup brands are preferred over established products that have already "made it" and can be found on bigger grocery store shelves
• Must be produced in a permitted kitchen under an approved business for the product
• All labeling and packaging must be complete, accurate, and compliant under federal and local regulations
• Must be able to deliver to any Farm To You retail location during open business hours
• We may site visit your kitchen/facility at any time
• If your beverage is shelf stable and doesn't need to be refrigerated that's a BIG PLUS. You'll need to bring in a sample of your bottle/can for refrigerated items to see if it fits our existing merchandising slides or we need to add new ones sized for your product.

Meats

We sell only grass-fed, grass-finished meats from beef, lamb, yak, and any other ruminant. Omnivores and fowl fed on grains is okay as long as it is non-GMO, however organic fed is preferred.

• We are interested in poultry meats (chicken & turkey) however mostly looking for farms wanting to make big expansions into providing these meats year round. Most customers can't afford poultry from very small operations. If you're small and want to get bigger, let's talk.
• We are interested in exotic meats and fowl. Bring a sample of your label/cuts/prices to any store for consideration. You do not need to bring meat samples, but photos do help. We want to see the quality.
• Must grow on open pasture or rotational/regenerative grazed methods (local grasses for ruminants) within New Mexico only. No concentrated feed lots, cooped-up poultry, etc.
• Must be processed at a USDA inspected facility in New Mexico (or describe the USDA poultry exemption you operated under)
• All ruminant packaging must bear the USDA stamp plus your farm name. It must be in flats (no chubs) to display in a merchandiser slide of 1lb portions that an average person or couple would consume.
  • No 2lb ground or stew meat packs.
  • Thick cut steaks CAN be over 1lb...2 to 3 lbs is pushing it unless you only have a few. Most of our customers will not buy heavier packs.
• Poultry must be labeled legally according to USDA processing guidelines
• Product must arrive frozen, packs separated (not frozen-together), clean, and labels in good shape/legible.
• We do not buy whole, half, or live large animals at this time. Only retail-ready grocery portions.
• We may site visit your farm/ranch to educate our staff on your local process and check conditions

Eggs

• Flocks of 50+ laying hens in Central NM. Usually smaller flocks don't lay eggs fast enough to make your trip to the stores worth it...though we have made exceptions in the past.
• Must grow on open pasture or rotational/regenerative grazed methods. No concentrated feed pens, cooped-up poultry. We want eggs from birds that have lots of sun and stretch their legs chasing bugs, scratching around, etc.
• Non-GMO feed required; organic fed is preferred. Feeding food waste high in protein is accepted.
• Unwashed, ungraded, eggs gathered within 4 days or less.
• Don't have to be perfectly clean in appearance but not gross-looking either. Poopy or streaked eggs should be rare, if at all, in the batches you bring. Obviously we don't want a single cracked egg.
• Eggs already in cartons or flats are okay. We will trade out returnable, reusable flats/crates to our farmers with flocks as needed.
• We reserve the right to site visit your facility to educate our staff on your local process and check conditions

Honey Products

We ARE NOT seeking raw or flavored honey products at this time. We will consider certain honey-based products as listed below, however VERY strict quality, packaging, and labeling requirements will apply. We see too many people doing honey products to stock them all. Smaller batch with attention to detail is a big plus.

• Lip balms and/or salves with very minimal ingredients (all ingredients must be listed on the label).
• Any oils used must be food grade.
• Bring in a sample to one of the stores
• It must look amazing on a shelf (packaging, too)...if you provide your own shelving or display merchandiser that helps a lot.
• We may site visit your facility to educate our staff on your local process

Non-food items

Our customers are generally coming to our store for groceries. At times we have carried greeting cards with local imagery, potted succulents, candles, etc but they do not sell very fast and our stores are on the smaller size. If you think you have a product that is a MUST for our store:

• Bring in a sample to one of the stores
• It must look amazing on a shelf (packaging, too)...if you provide your own shelving or display merchandiser that helps a lot.
• Most of the time, non-food products are on consignment only. We'll set the commission based on cost and how the product sells.
• We may site visit your facility to educate our staff on your local process

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No Asshole/Jerks Policy

With hundreds of millions of dollars in career food sales, our management team has seen it all. Food and recipes can't be copyrighted. We have run into some who think they have a certain product and can treat others with disrespect or contempt. We have news for you...it's a mathematical probability your product is not that special.

As farmers, we have also run into anti-farmer farmers. These are farmers who will talk shit about other farmers and lie about their competing products...thinking they are being savvy businesspeople by destroying another farmer when they are really harming the entire local food ecosystem. That behavior is amateur and will get them nowhere.

We do not work with assholes. Period.

Whether you are a customer, a vendor, farmer, politician, social media influencer, just browsing, or spent thousands of dollars with us...we do not tolerate jerks or rude behavior in our stores.

If you aren't okay with this policy we are likely not the store for you.