Glossary · Selling

Cold Chain

The unbroken refrigerated handling of perishable food from farm to consumer — critical for food safety, shelf life, and quality.

The cold chain is the continuous refrigerated handling of perishable foods from harvest to consumption. Breaks in the cold chain (food warming, even briefly) accelerate spoilage and can create food-safety risks.

For small farms, cold chain is one of the bigger operational challenges when scaling beyond the farmers market: you need reliable refrigerated trucks for deliveries, walk-in coolers for holding, and chef relationships that understand and respect delivery windows. Many farms that can sell at a market struggle to sell wholesale simply because their cold-chain infrastructure isn't there.

Related Terms

Wholesale (Food)

Selling food in bulk to intermediaries — restaurants, grocers, food hubs, distributors — rather than direct to end consumers. Lower per-unit pricing, higher volume, simpler logistics.

Farm-to-Table

A restaurant sourcing practice where chefs buy ingredients directly from local farms rather than through commercial distributors.

GAP Certification (Good Agricultural Practices)

A voluntary USDA-audited certification confirming that a farm follows food-safety best practices — typically required by larger institutional buyers, some grocery chains, and hotel groups.
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