As confirmed cases of cyclospora tick up in New Hampshire, some people are turning to local farms to get their produce.
Brookford Farm in Canterbury is seeing that trend in its sales. Brandy Deno works behind the farm store counter there, and she said last Sunday they almost sold out of the lettuce stocked for the day.
Now is generally a time of year when people seek out fresh produce anyway, but some customers have confirmed they’re concerned about reports of parasites in produce. Recently, Deno said, customers have been telling her they’re suspicious of lettuce from national chains.
“They’re not trusting the grocery store lettuce anymore, and [there are] starting to be recalls, and it scares people,” Deno said.
Lettuce from the company Taylor Farms has been linked to cyclospora outbreaks in multiple states, including New Hampshire. Taylor Farms lettuce is found in restaurants and grocery stores around the country, and it recalled its lettuce products distributed June 29 to July 16 this year. Symptoms of the parasite include severe diarrhea, nausea and a low-grade fever. It can be treated with antibiotics and also resolve on its own.
Emanuel Mahoney, one of the family employees at Brookford Farm, said he hadn’t even heard about cyclospora until a customer picked up a lettuce product and asked him if there was a parasite in it. He told her what he believes: that products like his that aren’t grown with pesticides and don’t travel across the country are safer than grocery store produce.
“She didn’t believe me and put it back,” he said.
Megan Dickison of Concord does shop at Brookford Farm for produce, though. Previously, she’d sometimes run into the grocery store to buy a pre-washed box of lettuce. But now she’s paying more money to buy local lettuce for herself and her two-year-old son, Mackay.
“I don't want to stop eating healthily. I don't want to stop eating lettuce and offering those things to him,” Dickison said.
Matt Morui, an ER nurse in Boston, was shopping at Brookford Farm while he visited family in New Hampshire. He said he already tries to eat local foods to try and avoid illnesses. He sees patients come in with food poisoning and the long term effects of regular unhealthy food. While the local food he buys from farms can be more expensive than at grocery stores, he said it’s worth it.
“Do you want to pay the farmer or the pharmacist? It's kind of the same in the hospital,” Morui said.
