Our Story
A Vermont Specialty Food Story, Forty Years Strong
We started as a small Vermont operation with a big belief: that exceptional food and the people behind it deserve to be known.
Where We Started
It was a two-way exchange from the beginning. Vermont cheeses, farms and makers found new markets. And the co-ops, chefs and specialty retailers of New England gained access to exceptional products they couldn't source anywhere else.
That philosophy — rooted in mutual benefit, built on relationships and driven by a genuine love of food — is still the foundation of everything we do.
The Same Company. A Bigger Table.
In 2023, James Gordon and Eric Frechette of Upper Valley Produce purchased Provisions International, bringing with them long-standing industry relationships, shared values and a clear commitment to everything that made the company worth leading in the first place.
The company they inherited had already grown considerably from its Vermont roots. Over nearly four decades, Provisions had expanded from a hands-on specialty business into a regional distributor with more than 600 active customers, 100+ producer partners, and a catalog of 4,000+ carefully selected items.
The product range had grown well beyond cheese: into charcuterie, pantry staples, specialty imports and an ongoing exploration of Québec cheeses and other regional finds. The infrastructure grew with it: a larger team, expanded delivery routes and online ordering on the way through Pepper.
The approach hasn't changed. The catalog is still curated, not just collected. The relationships are still personal, not transactional. And the belief that great food deserves great distribution is still what drives us every day.
Relationship-First Isn't a Tagline
We use that phrase because it's the most accurate description of how we actually operate.
It means our reps learn your business, not just your order history. It means when a product doesn't meet our standards, we hold it before it ever reaches you. It means our drivers have doubled back on the same day to correct a delivery before a customer even had to ask.
We flag quality trends back to producers so problems get solved at the source, not just managed downstream. And when something comes up — and in this business, something always does — you're calling a person who knows you, not navigating a support portal.
That level of ownership runs through the whole team: warehouse, sales, drivers, and everyone in between. Everyone understands their role in protecting both the product and the relationship.
More Than Distribution
The specialty food landscape has changed a lot since 1986. There are more distributors, more sourcing options, and more competition for shelf space and attention. At the same time, the producers who built this ecosystem — the family farms, small-batch makers and artisans — face real pressures: succession challenges, rising costs and fewer new makers entering the field.
That's made our role more important, not less. We're not just moving products. We're helping producers stay visible and viable, connecting long-standing makers with the buyers who value them and bridging regional tradition with new discovery: from Vermont farms we've worked with for decades to Québec cheesemakers we're just beginning to introduce.
We think of it as stewardship. The food is extraordinary. The people behind it are worth knowing. And the communities that depend on both deserve a distributor who shows up that way.
Get to Know Us Better
The best way to understand what we do is to see what we carry and meet the producers we represent. If you're ready to explore a partnership, we'd love to hear from you.