Pure Catskills is a regional, buy local campaign developed by the Watershed Agricultural Council to improve the economic viability of the local community, sustain the working landscapes of the Catskills and preserve water quality in the NYC Watershed Region. Pure Catskills works to promote hundreds of farm, forest and local businesses throughout Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster Counties in New York State.
When we first began this initiative in 2004, we started with a small group of farmers in the Catskills region. Now, we represent nearly 350 diverse farm and forest-based businesses, restaurants, local artisans, other non-profit organizations, and accommodations. The brand of Pure Catskills is evolving to properly represent the diversity of its membership base and seize current market opportunities to create economic opportunity for its members.
As we look to the future, the development of the regional food system, ongoing concerns about the environment, and consumer demand for high-quality, natural products made in the Catskills, our answer is Pure Catskills which has set itself apart by being a premium, and trusted brand for food and forest products.
Why become a member?
It’s all about connections! Pure Catskills helps our members make connections with local and downstate customers and wholesale buyers looking to purchase regionally grown and produced products, including high-quality, value-added products that permeate the Catskills. Pure Catskills helps local farms and businesses make connections to each other to create powerful collaborations. The combination of all of these efforts improves the economic viability of communities in the watershed. We are working to create marketing opportunities for the farms and forests in the watershed puts dollars directly into local businesses and preserves the Catskills way of life. Healthy businesses aid the Watershed Agricultural Council in our mission of ensuring the delivery of over one billion gallons a day of clean, fresh drinking water to nine million New York residents.
Each spring, we publish the Guide to Pure Catskills Products and freely distribute it across the region and all over the state. The guide is available electronically and all business listings from it are searchable in the Find Local Products section of this site.
Am I eligible to join Pure Catskills? Click here to find out.
Why buy Pure Catskills?
When you make a purchase from Pure Catskills farmers, foresters and businesses you support a rural economy, protect the working landscapes, preserve water quality, and ensure that small communities in the Catskills survive.
It protects the environment.
Well-managed farms and businesses help keep the soil fertile and the water clean, which is critical to the ecosystems that plants, animals and humans inhabit.
It preserves the working landscape.
Protecting the working landscapes in the Catskills ensures the delivery of over one billion gallons a day of clean, fresh drinking water to nine million New York residents.
It’s part of our culture.
Our culture is rich with music, art and literature that have drawn from the values instilled through working the landscape. Helping our farmers, woodworkers and other local businesses stay profitable is an essential part of our cultural heritage.
It is an investment in the future.
Supporting a safe, local food system enables us to feed ourselves for generations to come. Support for this project comes from Pure Catskills members, the Watershed Agricultural Council and New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
Stay connected with Pure Catskills through our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest. It takes a community to build a strong foodshed and watershed — a Pure Catskills community. We’re thrilled to be working with you to that end!
