Inspired by the “Fair Trade” products such as coffee, bananas, and chocolate, the Vermont Dairy Promotion Council, Food and Markets, the New England Dairy Promotion Board, and the New England Family Dairy Farm Cooperative with Cooperative Development Institute, have developed the idea of marketing milk with an icon that indicates the farmer who produced it will be paid a portion of the price for it-a price that helps farmers cover the cost of production. The Keep Local Farms program connects consumers with dairy farmers through education and direct support.

Hannaford, which gets 90 percent of its milk from the Northeast, is the first retailer to back Keep Local Farms. The chain will donate 10 cents for each “Close to Home” reusable bag sold in February. Customers also may donate $2 or $5 at its cash registers.

Lucinda Williams is the 12th generation to work the Luther Belden Farm, and she doesn’t want the property that’s been in her husband’s family since 1661 to follow the 150 New England dairy farms that failed last year. Williams yesterday joined Hannaford Supermarkets and state agriculture officials in an appeal to Bay Staters to support New England dairy farms.

“Farmers are not looking for a handout,” Williams said. “It’s called a business, and we’d actually like to be in business. At a minimum, we’d like to be able to cover our costs.”

Federally set milk prices plunged after the recession took hold. The U.S. lost 3 percent of its export market, leaving a glut of product, said Chris Galen, spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation in Virginia.