Local farms allow customers to track their food
By Justin Smith

Following one death and scores of illnesses caused by e coli linked to bagged spinach, officials with the Food and Drug Administration say it is now okay to eat spinach if it was grown outside a three-county area in California.

But, they say, the industry needs to figure out how to let consumers know the origin of what they are buying.

When you walk down the produce aisle of the grocery store, it is often impossible to know where much of the food was grown - not just spinach.

But local farms allow shoppers in our area who know exactly where their fruits and vegetables come from.

Farmer Ken Dawson grows five acres of crops at Maple Spring Gardens north of Hillsborough.

"There's a chain of custody involved in the product from the seed to the table at the farmers' market,” Dawson said. “We keep a close watch on things."

Dawson does not have to look far to see the fruits of his labor. All his food is sold locally.

"People have a feeling that they belong to the farm in a way. They know who we are and that we're growing food specifically for them. It makes it very personal. As they say, it's food with a face,” Dawson said.

His customers at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market say his is a face they can trust.

"You become familiar with the farmers. You know the names of the farms and their ethics and their practices and that's important,” customer Burly Page said.

Managers of the market require that all food sold there be grown within fifty miles of Carrboro. A farmer or a family member also must be present at the market.