Sowing the seeds of change: the growing consumer demand for locally grown food plows new ground for the state's farm economy.

• Position: CASH CROP: LOCAL-FOOD MOVEMENT

I regardless Cafe co-owner Anya Gordon circulates among the lunchtime customers in the packed Raleigh restaurant. speaking to regulars here. making introductions there, basking in the sense of community she and her husband, Arthur, have created during 37 years operating the eatery. But that's not all they're known for. The Gordons were snapping up fresh food at local farmers' markets long before going local was trendy.

Now, thanks to the agricultural industry's response to growing demand for local food, their chef, Solomon Khoury, is able to buy directly from producers and suppliers in places ranging from Asheville, Hendersonville and Mayodan to Graham, Benson and Mount Olive. The N.C. Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council considers any food grown inside the state to be local. Of course, that could mean a Murphy seafood lover's "local" fish was trucked 547 miles from Wanchese, and an apple somebody munches in Kitty Hawk might have come from Robbinsville, 543 miles away. "Buying local food makes more sense," says Brenda Larson, North Carolina Cooperative Extension's horticulture specialist in Lee County. "You know where your food's coming from. It's healthier, of better quality. preserves farmland and supports the local community and farmers."

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Today's burgeoning local-food industry is rooted in a collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies. Local and regional farmers' markets planted the seeds, but other direct-marketing efforts have blossomed due to the Internet and food cooperatives. "Classic research shows that rural communities and businesses surrounded by many small farms are more vibrant and robust than where the average farm scale is very large," says Nancy Creamer, director of the Center for Environmental Fanning Systems, a partnership between N.C. State University, N.C. A&T State University and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. "Given that bigger farms no longer mean bigger profits, a town's economy will be stronger having several hundred small producers instead of only several very large...