Jessica Tallman tends to more than 7,700 heads of lettuce in a small greenhouse along the Youghiogheny River near Elizabeth.
Trays of hydroponic red romaine, green oak leaf and bibb lettuces -- among the 30 varieties she grows without a hint of soil -- lie in rows waiting to be harvested for restaurant dinner plates.
Still, there's not nearly enough to fill the salad bowls of everyone who wants to eat them.
"If we had more, it would go out the door," said Tallman, 30, of Mt. Lebanon. "(Buyers) are always saying, 'if you have more, we'll take it.' "
Allegheny East Specialty Produce, where Tallman works, is helping to lead the local emergence of a national trend to connect local growers and diners. Western Pennsylvanians have been working to bring locally grown produce, meats and dairy products to institutions such as college cafeterias.
Students at Allegheny College, Carnegie Mellon University, St. Vincent College, Washington & Jefferson College and a few other schools are eating more locally grown foods each year.
Backers of the trend -- farmers, warehousers, chefs and teachers -- hope to increase demand by educating students about the benefits of eating food from nearby farms.
By eating locally, diners help the environment by reducing the number of miles food travels by truck, support growers in their own communities and get fresher, tastier foods, proponents say.
"Schools are a great place to start the conversation, but I know for certain it doesn't stop there," said Jennifer DeHart, an environmental science professor at Allegheny College in Meadville.
A student's senior project in 2003 kicked off an effort to start bringing farmers onto campus -- first, for an annual local foods dinner, and later as a part of dining hall offerings.
DeHart and school officials are helping farmers create a cooperative, making it easier for the college to put locally grown foods on students' plates. The growers can share the expense of required product liability insurance.
Another problem is meeting the demands for locally grown, organic foods, said David Eson, Western Pennsylvania program director for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, a nonprofit organization.
"There's not enough food these people want to buy," he said. "There's a spike going on right now, and there's not enough capacity to take it on."
However, the local food system is starting to add capacity, Eson and others said.
Parkhurst Dining Services, in Homestead, serves students at Chatham College, Robert Morris University and Carnegie Mellon University in Allegheny County; St. Vincent College in Westmoreland County; St. Francis College in Cambria County; and Washington & Jefferson College in Washington County.
A division of Eat 'n Park Hospitality Group, the company has notified wholesale food sellers that it wants more local foods, said Jamie Moore, director of food and beverage. With a goal of buying 20 percent of its food locally, Parkhurst spends about $1 million a year on items from Western Pennsylvania, he said.
Last summer when local foods were plentiful, Parkhurst bought about 25 percent of its produce from growers within a 100-mile radius of its food service locations. The company expects to increase that to 40 percent by 2010.
"The food doesn't have to go very far, so it tastes better," said Leslie Ekstrand, who runs Chatham's dining hall. "Pennsylvania was once a big agricultural state, and it still is. So there's no need to buy apples, when they're in season (locally), from Washington State."
Starting this spring, Parkhurst plans to set up nine sites for community supported agriculture, or CSA, drops at the universities and companies where it serves food. Through the CSAs, local farmers provide weekly boxes of food to annual subscribers who pay in advance for the service.
The initiative is intended to promote the subscriber services while giving farmers a convenient, low-cost place to deliver their food to buyers. Parkhurst will not make money from the program, but the company will be helping more local farmers, particularly small growers, Moore said.
Art King, the co-owner of Harvest Valley Farms in Valencia, plans to speak at local universities this spring to build enthusiasm for the program. Already, the Butler County farm's number of subscribers has increased to more than 300, up from 135 last summer.
"These people who participate in my CSA, they know me personally," King said.
Paragon Monteverde Food Service, a Lawrenceville wholesaler, provides food to Parkhurst and has started increasing the number of items it buys locally to keep up with demand, said Joel Ankney, senior produce buyer.
In peak season, around late August, the company gets about 25 percent of its produce locally, he said. In the spring, when many Pennsylvania farmers are starting their growing season, the company gets only 5 percent of its items from nearby growers.
"The difference now is you have a lot more awareness of this local product," said Steven Monteverde, one of the owners. "You have an excitement in the market for buying local produce."
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