Local Hero Member Renewal & Enrollment
2020 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
CLICK HERE TO APPLY.
CISA’s Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown® public awareness and marketing campaign was launched in 1999 and has since become the country’s longest running and most comprehensive “buy local” program for farm products. This year 271 farms and landscape/garden centers, 65 restaurants, 43 retailers, 14 institutions, and 22 specialty producers have joined together to raise awareness and sales of locally grown farm products.
The Local Hero campaign uses a wide array of paid advertising (print, radio, and web) and public relations (press releases, events and appearances) to engage the public and increase support for local farmers. And it works!
Enroll online, and learn more about the benefits of membership, by clicking on the links at the right-hand side of this page. Contact Devon Whitney-Deal at 413-665-7100 x22 to learn more about the Local Hero program.
“CISA does a tremendous job and their hard work is much appreciated! It’s an honor and of great benefit to be part of CISA and the “local” tools are a big plus! Thank you!”
-Mount Warner Vineyards
“Our association with CISA gives customers a sense of what we’re about: good food for our community.”
-The Benson Place
“I tell other farmers all the time that being a CISA member is the most well spent advertising money. This organization has done more to create a local market than anything else you could be a part of”
-Little Brook Farm
Local Hero = Success
A 2018 survey of Local Hero farmers found that:
- 41% of participating farms reported net income increases from agriculture over the last year.
- 93.3% of respondents were satisfied with the Local Hero membership program.
Our most recent market research found that:
- Over 78% of residents of Franklin and Hampshire counties and 52% of Hampden county residents recognize the Local Hero logo.
- People who recognize the logo are twice as likely to shop at their local farm stand or farmers’ market or to choose local product at their grocery store.
Read our 2006 Market Research Report [pdf]