At the same time, I can't say that local interest in organic (or near-organic high-quality) food is dropping, since the association I help run attracts new members all the time, interested in buying vegetables, fruit, meat, etc from local producers. The newcomers are mostly young couples, (25-35), some retired people, occasionally people between the two. In the main, I'd say there's unsatisfied demand for produce of this kind. It's true we can (via numbers and duration of commitment to buy) keep prices reasonable.
Out here, though, we have very healthy Farmers' Markets, so co-ops have to concentrate on something besides fresh produce. The Food Front seems to do well on wine, organic deli, spices, as well as the standard groceries (organic by somebody's definition). paul spencer
