With deep respect for the environment and gratitude toward the dedicated people who produce our local food, The Ithaca Farmers Market Cookbook is compatible with everything the Ithaca Farmers Market strives for.

Buying locally supports the farmer who grows varieties best-suited to local climate and soils, allowing flavor and nutrition to take precedence over transportability. “Food miles” are relatively small, which greatly reduces fossil fuel use and pollution. Eating locally means your food is better-tasting, better for the environment, better for the local economy, and better for your health.

Vendors who apply to join the Ithaca Farmers Market are required to have offerings juried by a committee of their peers, to whom localness and community are important. Besides rigorous “grow-your-own” standards, every item offered for sale must be grown, produced, or crafted within 30 miles of the Market.

In keeping with the Market’s “Principle of Proximity,” this book has been inspired by and produced in accordance with the 30-mile rule. Recipes have been gathered from Market vendors, local marketgoers, and from chefs whose restaurants and cafés are located within the regional “foodshed.” All tasks -- photography, editing, recipe-testing, layout and design, printing and binding -- have been carried out within the designated geographical boundary.

Buy Local. Eat Local. Live Local.