Frequently Asked Questions

In March of 2023, we made the difficult decision to close our retail market and in-store services from our in-house butcher, Butcher & Larder.

Despite this difficult decision, the wholesale side of local foods – the side that connects local vendors and farmers with Chicago restaurants, school systems, and retail stores – is continuing regular business and is growing each year.

Despite customers no longer having regular access to the Local Foods market and butcher, you can still find Local Foods products in restaurants and local markets throughout Chicago. For more information, click here.

We use three simple sourcing criteria when it comes to our products –

Locally Sourced: In almost every case, it means anything we can bring you that comes from within a day’s drive of Chicago.

Locally Processed: Products created from ingredients that don’t grow in the area – like coffee beans — but are processed here.

Beyond Local: We carry a few things the Midwest can’t grow — like avocados — but are sourced from single suppliers and ethical producers.

Here’s more about how we source products.

Just off Elston, north of North Avenue, where Willow heads northeast. If you know landmarks better than street names – We’re near both Hideout and Home Depot.

The Local Foods market is now permanently closed. If you are interested in continuing to support local foods systems, you can find more information about Local Foods products here.

As with the Local Foods market, our in-house butcher, Butcher & Larder, is now permanently closed. However, through Butcher & Larder, we are offering a whole animal program available for our distribution customers.

For more information, click here.

We post open positions here, please contact us! We’re always looking for team members.

Absolutely. Please contact us here.

Local Foods Wholesale is as strong as ever, connecting local vendors and farmers with Chicago restaurants, school systems, and retail stores. For more information on where you can find Local Foods products throughout Chicago, click here.

We are Chicago’s first wholesaler of exclusively-local food, including a full range of produce, meat, dairy, grains and more from the Midwest’s finest farmers.

With Local Foods, you’ll get the best local ingredient available, you’ll know the source of every product you enjoy, and you’ll be strengthening our regional food system by keeping more money in the local economy.

For more information, click here.

While our in-store Butcher closed with the Local Foods Market, we are offering a Butcher & Larder whole animal program to our distribution customers.

Butcher & Larder sources exclusively pasture-raised, non-GMO, hormone and antibiotic-free meats from a range of small midwestern farms.

For more details on this service, click here.

Mightyvine is one of our partner businesses, using next-generation farming techniques to produce fresh premium tomatoes, year-round, from right here in Chicago.

Our wholesale partners have access to a variety of tomatoes such as cherry and beefsteak.