Brown's commitment to buying local is guided by the following criteria:
- Small farms, orchards, or mills that grow plant-based products.
- Small producers of meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and cheese.
- Owner-operated.
- Produced within 150 miles or less.
- Annual profit of less than $5 million.
Brown Dining Services works with a network of local and regional farmers to source local ingredients whenever possible. Some of the farms include:
- Winsor Dairy, Johnston, RI
- Schartner Farms, Exeter, RI
- Kitchen Garden Farms, Sunderland, MA
- Young Family Farm, Little Compton, RI
- Confreda Farms, Hope, RI
- Four Town Farm, Seekonk, MA
- Wishing Stone Farm, Little Compton, RI
- Moosup River Farm, Greene, RI
- Narragansett Creamery, Providence, RI
- New Harvest Coffee, Providence RI
- Horse Listeners, Ashford, CT
- Reds Best, Boston MA
- Wayland Bakery, Providence, RI
- Seven Stars Bakery, Providence, RI
- Iggy’s Bread, Cambridge, MA
- Pain D’Avignon, Hyannis, MA
- Black Bird Farm, Smithfield, RI
- Rhode Island Mushroom, Exeter, RI