A growing number of food and beverage processors claim to be part of the local food movement. But for many of them, the definition of "local" is a bit of a stretch.

As the company prepares to build a new processing facility, one that will more than double its current 16,000 square feet to approximately 40,000 square feet, it is working to maximize production rates and efficiencies at the Marshall, Calif., plant in which it has been operating since the company’s inception in 1994.

The dairy processor is striving to be a role model for supporting local family farms and preserving the environment.

In 1978, two guys named Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield forked over $5 to take a Penn State correspondence course on ice cream making. They then went on to invest $12,000, $4,000 of it borrowed, to open their first ice cream shop in a former gas station located in Burlington, Vt.

Maryland's Kilby family has been farming for 100 years. To position itself for success into the next century, it built a dairy processing plant that bottles milk and churns ice cream under the name Kilby Cream.

Ed Hawkins invented a blue cheese buttermilk salad dressing that he served in his steakhouse. When customers asked if they could buy a bottle to take home, he knew it was a hit.

The city of Sandpoint (population 7,500) is in the skinny part of Idaho, wedged between Washington and Montana, and about an hour south of the Canadian border. Sandpoint is the seat of Bonner County which, at 1,920 square miles, is larger than the entire state of Rhode Island. When the Dixie Chicks sing of “Wide Open Spaces,” they could be referring to this part of Idaho.

The cream cheese maker is thriving, business is good and its innovative Greek cream cheese is helping to drive growth for itself and customers.