Joanne Neft is a bit "loco" when it comes to food. It has to be locally grown. Whether she's buying tomatoes, pork or 2 tons of plums, she seeks food grown within 100 miles of her Auburn home. If it isn't in season, she buys something else.

"I believe nature grows the food we need to eat when we eat it," says Neft, who at 72 has been founding farmers markets and other businesses in Placer County for more than two decades. "I also find comfort in knowing the face of the farmer who grew my food."

Some years ago, Neft was one of this region's few locavores – someone who would eat only food grown within a set distance, say 50 or 100 miles.

Not anymore. Wary of food scares and inspired by books such as "The Omnivore's Dilemma," an increasing number of consumers and restaurant owners are growing their own food or buying it directly from farmers. The region's 32 farmers markets are reporting a surge in customers – as are co-ops, farm stands, subscription services and wholesale food operations that specialize in locally grown food.

Local food fanatics would likely starve if they lived in Nome, Alaska. But in Sacramento? This is a land of milk and honey. Each year, farmers in the six-county region grow $1.2 billion worth of food on roughly 2.4 million acres of farmland and ranches. With their orchards and fields spread over a range of soils and microclimates, farmers can and do grow grapes, nuts, olives, apples, citrus, rice, corn, wheat, dairy products, all forms of vegetables and many kinds of meat.

Despite all this bounty, only a small portion of the food that is consumed in Sacramento is grown within a 100-mile radius. No one knows the precise number, but experts say the figure is probably less than 5 percent, and may be below 2 percent.

Most consumers continue to buy food at conventional supermarkets, where convenience overshadows origins of what's sold. Most local growers dedicate their land to mass production of a single crop, such as almonds or rice, generally for export.

Still, there are changes afoot in the world of industrial agriculture. Fuel prices are gyrating, making it more costly to transport food long distances. Consumers are wary about salmonella in their imported peppers. Some are heeding their doctors' advice to eat less processed food and consume more fresh vegetables, which tilts the scales in favor of local farmers. Others see an environmental benefit or simply want to sow their dollars back into the local economy.

Last month, Wal-Mart unveiled plans to spend $400 million this year on locally grown food. The announcement signals that grocery chains sense a shift in consumer preferences, just as they did when Whole Foods and other big chains began to capitalize on organic food.

"There is a great potential for dramatically increasing the amount of locally grown food," says Dan Best, who oversees the certified farmer's markets in Sacramento County. "But it all starts with the consumer. If you have the demand, the supply will come. Farmers will step up if the demand is there."

A true family farm

Out on the farm owned by Steve Pilz and Lisa Tollefson, the day is indeed bright. The sun is coming up. Geese fly overhead. Wild turkeys meander amid the fruit trees, as Tollefson picks sunflowers in the golden glow of dawn.

A husband-and-wife team, Pilz and Tollefson own Hillcrest Orchard, a 32-acre spread in the hills of Penryn in Placer County. Pilz's grandfather planted Satsuma mandarin oranges on the land back in 1927. After his grandfather died, Pilz carried on the tradition of growing, packing and selling boxes of mandarins to a seasonal base of customers.

It wasn't enough. Facing competition from Satsuma growers in the San Joaquin Valley, Pilz saw his customers decline. So the couple decided to diversify.

Eight years ago, Tollefson started growing flowers, and the couple have since expanded their production of tomatoes and vegetables. Now they sell their bouquets and produce three times a week at Placer County farmers markets. Restaurants – including the Loomis Grill and La Provence in Roseville – have started buying some of their heirloom tomatoes.

Reach associate editor Stuart Leavenworth at (916) 321-1185.