Desire for locally-grown produce drives N.Y. farm growth

By Sara DiNatale, Buffalo News

After spending 12 years in California, Lana Ricupto moved back to the Buffalo area and noticed something different about local supermarkets: she could easily get homegrown produce.

It wasn’t always like that, she said.

In the past five years, the “buy local trend” has taken root in Western New York. Eden Valley Growers, about 20 miles outside Buffalo, has seen local buyers become a larger majority of its customers. Consumers say they’ve noticed better signs and advertising of local fruits and vegetables in supermarkets – a response the stores say is a reaction to increased interest from customers.

Local stores say they have always carried local produce, but in recent years it has become more important to consumers.

So important, that it’s not just a trend – it’s a movement, according to Lisa Tucker, an agricultural economic development and food systems educator for Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Niagara County.

“It’s a huge industry we could be supporting on many levels,” Tucker said. “It could turn the economy around up here.”

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