Eggs and the word on the "farmer's street"

We like to use local products at our cafe, and recently our "egg lady" hasn't been able to deliver what we needed for eggs.

So off-handedly I mentioned to David Summerstein, when he came to interview us for this series, that the cafe is looking for a new egg distributor. I didn't think that he would include this in the clip that went onto the radio, but sure enough, he did.
Not even 2 minutes after the clip had finished airing, someone called about selling eggs. I was surprised and excited. We found a new "egg lady"!
And wouldn't you know, I've gotten 3 more calls in the last 4 days from people who have eggs to sell.
It's great, having local eggs again. They're fresher and we're putting money back into our economy.

But here's what I'm wondering: Does local food actually add to our allure? Do people specifically come out to our restaurant because we use local ingredients?

Believe it or not, I have been under the impression that the answer is no. It's rare that we hear feedback about local food from our customers.

Our employee, Kathy Rice, disagrees with me however. She and her husband grow and sell veggies at farmer's market through their business, Sweetcore Farm. This past summer they were worried about their business making enough money as a result of rising fuel costs.
However, to their surprise, they made more money than they ever have because volume was up significantly.
She says that this is a similar situation for other farmers who sell at Canton's market.

According to Kathy, the "locavore" food movement is really picking up in Canton.

And farmers are noticing a difference.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe people in the North Country are intentionally choosing to spend their food dollars at home.

If it's true, that's great news for farmers!!