Economic woes drift away in the bustle over fresh romaine and ripe tomatoes at Jessica's Organic Farm, where shoppers flock to top quality food during farm-stand hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
Like other vendors of local organic foods, the small Sarasota farm is thriving while some traditional food retailers are experiencing a slowdown.
More people are discovering they can buy fresh organic food directly from farmers, at produce stands and farmers markets, for about the same price as conventional grocery store food, said Marty Mesh, executive director of Florida Organic Growers, a nonprofit trade group.
The phenomenon here and in other urban areas stems from converging trends -- rising popularity of locally grown foods, promoted in best-selling books, and a demand that outstrips supply.
Regionally and nationwide, direct selling from farmer to consumer is growing rapidly, as more people scout out farmers markets. Over the past decade, the number of farmers markets in the country has increased by 6 percent to 7 percent every two years, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics.
Unless more farmers sell directly, however, the yearly growth of farmers markets will taper off, especially in urban areas, said Errol Bragg, director of the farmers market program for the USDA.
"There is oftentimes a shortage of farmers to provide the products that consumers are demanding," Bragg said.
Amid the activity at Jessica's Farm Stand, Bill Pischer, owner of the five-acre farm named after his daughter, is approached by Marsha Forrest, who owns Central Market, a distribution company that serves high-end restaurants and markets from Boca Grande to Anna Maria Island. She wants to buy lettuce and other leafy greens in bulk.
These unsolicited requests from food distributors and grocers are common, and Pischer cannot begin to fulfill them all.
"At the size I am, I'm not really in the position to take on additional wholesale clients," Pischer said. "I would have to expand my ground that I'm using to do so."
