An Arvada couple is encouraging people to shop locally by asking a simple question: What’s your radius?

Nathan and Kimberly Mudd, the couple that brought back the Arvada Farmer’s Market, have launched a new website, www.localradius.net, that makes it easier for customers to shop locally for fresh produce, artisan gifts, restaurant meals and more.

“I resigned from my legal job to pursue my dream of changing the food-distribution model,” he said. “Local Radius is an online service that connects customers to food, food artisans and artisans, and lets them purchase as close to home as they want or as far away as they need. It lets them make the decision.”

The website is scheduled to launch Thursday, Sept. 20, and the first pick-up date for purchases will be Sunday, Sept. 23. Many of the vendors on Local Radius are farmers who frequent local farmers markets. The website has made farmers markets possible year-round.

For example, a customer could log on to www.localradius.net, select the Arvada Farmers Market and buy organic Colorado gala apples from Miller Farms, a popular vendor at the physical farmers market.

Then, the customer chooses whether they want to pick up their purchase at a weekly pick-up station, a kind of a prepaid farmers market, or have it delivered to his or her home. But Local Radius offers more than just produce.

“Local Radius is for the full shopping experience,” Mudd said. “We’re giving them more of a web presence.”

Local Radius is also available for artisan vendors, including Dope Soap on a Rope, and restaurants. Customers may place an order online and it will automatically pop up on a screen in the restaurant’s kitchen, after which it will be prepared for either pick-up or delivery.

“We’re increasing their ability to get online ordering,” Mudd said. “It’s also a great business-to-business opportunity because restaurants can go to farmers to get their ingredients.”

The radii expand beyond Arvada, too.

Mudd and his partner, Dan Wright, have worked with others to expand Local Radius to the Louisville Organic Co-Op, serving Cincinnati, St. Louis, Indianapolis and other areas; the Northwest Organic Co-Op, serving Oregon, California and Idaho; and the New England Organic Co-Op, serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

On the website, customers type in their ZIP code to get lists of how far away each co-op and vendor is, which lets them choose how local they want their purchases to be.

At launch, Mudd said, he expects about 30 vendors to be available. He said he hopes to have between 80 and 100 vendors on the website.