Nourished nearby

One after another, the phone calls came in last week at the Coffee Pot Ranch in Placer County, where Shirley Field and her husband, Bob Sorensen, raise animals and sell frozen pork, beef and lamb to local customers.

One caller had heard about a recall of hamburger contaminated with E. coli and wanted to know how soon she could buy beef from the ranch.

Another wanted to know if Coffee Pot's sausages contained the kinds of glutens that were chemically doctored with melamine in China and led to the recent pet food crisis.

And a third wanted to know if the ranch's hogs were being raised in a humane and environmentally sensitive manner.

Field was happy to take the calls and provide assurances about everything from the farm's feeds to its philosophies.

Like many farmers and producers who sell directly to local customers, she has seen a jump in business as more and more people -- motivated by food safety scares, environmental concerns and a desire for deeper connections to those who grow their foods -- are choosing locally grown items for their tables.

"Every day we get more questions," Field said. "People are really starting to question their food."

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