New Orleans farmers see rush for local lettuce
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Faust Farms Hydroponics was ready to go at Dorignac's on a recent shopping trip. Photo: Carlie Kollath Wells/Axios
New customers are hitting up the Crescent City Farmers Market as the lettuce-linked cyclosporiasis continues to churn headlines and bellies.
Why it matters: The outbreak is bad for Big Lettuce, but might turn out to be pretty good for local farmers as both households and commercial businesses rush to find safer sources for their leafy greens.
The big picture: Cyclosporiasis is the diarrhea-inducing illness that's been linked in part to contaminated lettuce.
- The outbreak has been spotted in 40 states and is worst in parts of the Midwest. In Louisiana, the number of cases is well above historic norms, health officials have said.
Zoom in: The lettuce link has led many diners to decline lettuce in restaurant meals, Axios' Tina Reed reports, and also teed up local farmers for a boost in sales.
What they're saying: Renée Blanchard, the market manager for Market Umbrella, which runs the Crescent City Farmers Market, says one of its regulars, Local Lettuce Heads, can barely keep up with demand at the markets.
- "We're definitely seeing people come to the welcome tent and ask us about lettuce," she says. "People are sharing their concerns with us, and we are introducing people to the farmers so they ... know exactly what they're getting, which is something we can't know for sure when we go to a big box store."
Yes, but: The big stores are calling on many of the same local farmers, which is squeezing local supply, too.
- "The calls we've been getting are insane," says Natalie Jones, who runs Faust Farms Hydroponics in Amite. "There's definitely been an uptick in sales or an uptick in additional people wanting to do business with us."
- Jones, who supplies Rouses Markets, has focused on making sure her regular customers are taken care of, which is especially challenging because the lettuce scare came at the hottest part of the year for south Louisiana.
State of play: "I'm at the end of my lettuce season," she says.
- Customers won't have a hard time finding Louisiana-grown lettuce this week, she and Blanchard say, but it'll be what's left at the end of the season.
- Jones will then start seeding for the fall season, but it'll take about six weeks before fall lettuces arrive.
The bottom line: "Have a little bit of patience for our local farmers," Blanchard advises, "who are really working overtime to meet a newer demand in a less than ideal weather situation."