Fayetteville, WV (WOAY) – As a cyclospora outbreak spreads across more than 30 states, including West Virginia, some shoppers are looking closer to home for the food on their tables.
At New Roots Community Farm, an 82-acre nonprofit in Fayetteville, market manager Morgan Mase says that shift has been noticeable in recent weeks.
“I have had customers say, ‘We’re coming here because we want to shop local. We don’t trust the grocery stores right now, and we want to have more confidence about where this is coming from.’ So I have heard that from customers in the past couple of weeks,” Mase said.
The parasite has been tied to fresh produce, and no source has yet been confirmed. As investigators trace the outbreak, early attention has turned to leafy greens, crops New Roots grows on the farm.
“Lettuce, mixed basil, herbs, we grow all of those things right here on the farm. And they’re really delicious,” Mase said.
Most of the produce sold at the market is grown on the property, with the rest coming from other West Virginia farms. That means fewer hands on the food and far less distance between field and shelf.
“Maybe 30 feet, I don’t know, 100 feet. Not very far,” she said.
A shorter supply chain may make locally grown produce a safer and easier-to-trace option, though no produce is risk-free. The CDC recommends rinsing produce thoroughly, even when it is labeled pre-washed or locally sourced. Mase says the farm follows its own precautions.
“Everything that’s grown here, we follow proper food safety protocols. We know where our source of irrigation is coming from. We feel very confident that the produce that we’re selling in the market is safe for people to eat,” Mase said.
New Roots Market is located at 167 Wolf Creek Road in Fayetteville and is open year-round, Thursday through Sunday.
