Sustainability means local for New Morning MarketSustainability means local for New Morning Market

Since 1971, New Morning Market has been committed to enhancing the local sustainable food community in Woodbury, Connecticut. But it hasn’t always been easy. “We have been losing farms for quite a while in our area, so for a time, a lot of our local resources disappeared,” says owner John Pittari. “In those in-between years, we actively sought out local producers and maintained those relationships. Even though consumers didn’t understand the value at the time, our mission dictated that we carry local items and educate them to create a market for local production.”

Today, Pittari’s work has paid off. New Morning Market boasts a healthy customer base that frequents the natural and local shop for the largest organic produce selection in the area; an extensive supplement and homeopathic department; a juice, smoothie and espresso bar; and a prepared foods section offering freshly made natural and organic eats to go.

New Morning highlights sustainability in these ways:

Sustainable building: New Morning Market recently relocated to a redeveloped building, designed with sustainability at the forefront. Energy efficiency, local and recycled materials from floor to ceiling, native plantings, a stormwater recharging system that puts the property’s rain right back into the aquifer, and habitats for local wild animals are just some of the features.

Local feeding: In addition to its extensive organic and local produce offerings, New Morning sends its kitchen scraps and extra produce to local farms to feed the animals. “We actually sell the pork from the pigs that are fed,” Pittari says.

Community partner: The store maintains active partnerships with many local environmental organizations including the Connecticut Audubon Society and the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition. As a result, New Morning Market is host to a number of awareness-raising events around local ecology from the Woodbury Earth Day celebration to a bird watching night.