FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — Recent recalls and warnings tied to tainted produce are changing where people shop for fruits and vegetables, and local farmers markets are seeing the benefits.
Vendors at the Franklin Farmers Market say foot traffic is up roughly 30% as consumers grow more cautious about commercially processed produce.
"I'm seeing like about a 30% increase in people coming to the market," Amy Tavalin with the Franklin Farmers Market said.
The shift comes as the cyclospora parasite has been linked to locally grown lettuce, and salmonella concerns have surrounded jalapenos. The FDA suspects the recent salmonella outbreak was caused by jalapenos shipped from Mexico to mostly restaurants and wholesalers.
Shoppers say the scares have made them more intentional about where their food comes from.
"I definitely think people are now focusing more on getting to know where their food is grown and how it is grown and shopping more local," Tavalin said.
Vendors say customers are asking more questions than ever before.
"It's definitely been more lately with things in the news, especially like the greens, the leaves, and now it's kind of expanded to everything, like customers are curious about how everything is taken care of and processed," Tandy Jackson with Bloomsbury Farms said.
Those questions often center on farming practices and safety.
"If it's safe, if we use fertilizer, if it's organic, because they're very worried about, you know, vegetables that aren't safe," Jackson said.
Not everyone is alarmed. Some shoppers say they feel comfortable buying local precisely because the produce bypasses large-scale processing facilities.
"I don't know, I'm just not that worried about it. I think certainly there's a level of caution, but again, in this kind of environment, you're not eating vegetables, jalapenos, lettuce, whatever, that's been processed through plants and packaged and marketed," shopper Patty Purvis said.
For Purvis, the appeal of farmers markets goes beyond safety.
"It's true farm to market. And we just really, really like that. And I just find that everything's fresher and I like shopping local and giving my money to these people instead of the grocery store," Purvis said.
Market vendors say that sense of trust and community is central to what they offer.
"And our motto is community feeding community. So we're a community of farmers feeding our local community," Tavalin said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
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