Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Tapping Local Suppliers

In your quest to purchase locally made items or locally grown food, how do you screen your suppliers? Do you take the time to visit their place of business? Is there an application process? Interview process? In their quest to purchase more than 50 percent of the product they serve from local sources, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and its food and beverage partner, Levy Restaurants, will be holding a Vendor Fair from October 25 to 27 at the Boston Convention Center. Interested vendors who sell either dairy, produce, or specialty items are being asked to submit an online application. The application asks vendors if they deliver directly and for the lead time required to fill an order.

Applicants are also asked whether or not they are headquartered in Massachusetts, and the annual revenues for the product in question.

The impact on the local and state economy will be significant if the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and Levy Restaurants meet their purchasing goal. The Convention Center Authority owns and oversees the Boston Convention Center and the Hynes Convention Center. Both locations bring in a huge amount of business annually. Between 2003 and 2008, the two centers hosted 634 events.

What is happening in Massachusetts is good for all of New England. The number of farms throughout the region is actually growing thanks to the increased purchase of locally produced food.