[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 2, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN VERMONT, FOOD FROM FAMILY FARMS IS GOOD BUSINESS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 1, 2004

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize 
that two businessmen in Vermont, Steve Birge and Mark Curran, the 
owners of Black River Produce of Proctorsville, Vermont, were recently 
selected runners-up for the National Small Business Person of the Year 
by the Small Business Administration.
  Twenty-five years ago Steve Birge began Black River Produce, today a 
$27 million produce company, when he saw the poor quality of the 
produce used in the local restaurant in which he worked. Black River 
originally delivered fresh, local produce to local restaurants in the 
Proctorsville area of central Vermont. But after he met Mark Curran 
(while hitchhiking!), the two expanded the company, working with local 
farmers so that they could supply restaurants with the freshest and 
most healthful produce available. Today, Black River delivers high-
quality produce not only throughout Vermont, but also into parts of 
western New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts, and eastern New York. It 
supplies not just restaurants, but grocery stores, schools, hospitals, 
ski areas, and nursing homes.
  Black River Produce has sales of more than $27 million a year, a work 
force of 100 employees, and a fleet of 30 refrigerated trucks and two 
tractor trailers.
  I salute Black River Produce's commitment to providing its customers 
with the highest quality foods. The company distributes high-quality 
Vermont foods, supporting not only local farmers, but other small 
businesses such as Grafton Cheese, Cold Valley apples, and products 
from Vermont Butter and Cheese. They are an integral part of the 
Vermont Fresh Network, which links local farms to local chefs.
  Although during out-of-season periods (Vermont, after all, has long 
winters) Black River distributes produce from out of state, and 
although it buys fish in Boston, its commitment to local agriculture 
and local business is noteworthy. In a time when both agribusiness and 
outsourcing have wrought havoc with traditional American family farms 
and with American businesses, I salute the remarkable accomplishment of 
Black River Produce in supporting local access to locally produced 
foods. Steve Birge and Mark Curran, and their many employees, have 
shown businesses around the nation that distributing the products from 
family farms is and can be good business, and that profits can flow 
both from helping local businesses, and from providing consumers with 
healthful foods.

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