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Local Markets, Co-Ops Reflect A Growing Trend

Tribune photo by KATHY MOORE

Mark Parrish harvests mint recently at Sweetwater Organic Community Farm, a community supported agriculture effort in Tampa.

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By JEFF SCULLIN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 1, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - Thousands of people milled through the parking lot next to Al Lang Field, listening to music, comparing dog breeds, chatting with local artists and chefs, and learning about the abundance of locally grown fruits and vegetables available at the weekly Saturday Morning Market.

At farmers markets and food co-ops across the country, more and more people are making similar discoveries about the variety and freshness of foods grown in their own communities. Others are paying local farmers to grow food for them through Community Supported Agriculture organizations or are working with neighbors to cultivate community gardens.

The Saturday Morning Market has grown substantially since it started seven years ago. In its second year, the market was drawing about 2,000 people a week. Now, it brings in 10,000 during its peak time, from January to April. The number of vendors has grown from 20 to 128, and with it the diversity. In addition to offering produce from across the region, the market brings together musicians, potters, glass-blowers and artists, food vendors and community groups. You can find everything from raku pottery with horse hair burned into it to chocolate-flavored pasta.

The market added more local growers this year, and manager Gail Eggeman said she's hearing from people who want to sell produce they're growing in their backyards.

Several factors are driving the heightened interest in buying locally. A food safety scare, such as the recent salmonella outbreak tied to peanut products, may lead consumers to seek out farmers they can look in the eye every week. Others may be lured by celebrity chefs preaching the benefits of eating locally and in season, or the desire to boost the local economy.

"People are starting to get the importance of supporting the local economy. Food is a natural because, let's face it, there's not a lot made locally anymore," said Rose Koenig, a lecturer in the University of Florida's agronomy department and a longtime organic farmer.

The growth of farmers markets can be a huge benefit for communities, too. Some promote the markets as economic development tools that draw thousands of shoppers, while community gardens are seen as a way of reclaiming vacant lots in blighted neighborhoods.

Buying "local" is in vogue, much like "organic" was a few years ago, and the number of places to buy locally grown produce is on the rise. But the trend is hard to quantify.

One of the best places for nationwide numbers is the Robyn Van En Center, which works with Community Supported Agriculture efforts, known as CSAs.

Since 1998, when the center moved to Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa., the number of farms listed in the center's CSA database has grown from 600 to 1,350. That number is likely to climb to nearly 2,000 by the time the center finishes an ongoing nationwide survey, said Chris Mayer, program manager for the college's Fulton Center for Sustainable Living. So far, the center lists only 22 CSAs in Florida.

While the local food movement is catching on in Florida, the state lags behind other parts of the country, especially the West Coast, which has a tradition of great farmers markets, and the Northeast, which is rooted in the small farm market, said Mickie Swisher, a professor at the University of Florida's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

"We're really making great strides, and part of that is looking at people coming here from someplace else and saying, 'Hey, I want to get all that stuff.'"

The interest in local foods is evident at Florida's first CSA, Sweetwater Organic Farm in Tampa.

Sweetwater has grown from eight members in 1995 to 300, and there's a waiting list to join.

Membership is what Mayer calls "a subscription for vegetables."

Dues pay for a team of people to work Sweetwater's 6-acre farm in Town 'N Country. Between November and May, members get two or three large bags of organic produce each week that is harvested that day or the day before. A full membership costs $715, a half membership $400. That works out to about $25 a week, co-op founder and executive director Rick Martinez said.

Sweetwater also opens up for a public market every Sunday. In addition to selling its own produce, the co-op invites other growers to expand the variety, as well as vendors selling handmade soap, natural flea spray, organic clothing, homemade hula hoops, jewelry and other items. There's music; organic smoothies and veggie burgers; workshops on holistic healing, sustainable living, organic gardening, plus rope swings for the kids.

"We've created a wonderful community here, and people appreciate it. It's a special thing," Martinez said.

The die-hards will come every week, but providing that kind of positive experience is important if you want to build a larger consumer base, Swisher said.

Lesley Cleaver of Pinellas Park came to the market in St. Petersburg for the first time Saturday, at the suggestion of friends. She wanted to check out the produce and crafts vendors and said the market also seems like a good way to get more involved in the community.

And as someone trying to live a healthier lifestyle, she likes being able to talk directly with growers or with people who know where the produce comes from.

"I can say, 'Where did you harvest this? Where is the farm?'"

Plus, there's the ambience.

"It beats roving the produce aisle," Swisher said.

Editor Jeff Scullin can be reached at (813) 259-7305.

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