WEST BEND - No longer is the latest trend in food the search for the most exotic fruit from a faraway place. Now, more and more people are looking to eat local.

"I think, number one, I like to know where my food’s coming from," said town of Farmington resident Diana Susen. "I believe more people are buying local because they’re much more conscientious of what they’re eating."

"I like to buy local, because I want to help the local economy," she said.

Susen not only buys local, she sells local as well.

As the owner of Meadow Creek Elk Farms, she sells elk meat, which is processed and sold at state-inspected meat markets and sold at those locations and at the farm.

The elk meat from her farm is available at Kewaskum Frozen Foods and Sausage Plus and Schwai’s in Fredonia and Jackson, as well as Sunseed Natural Foods in West Bend.

One of her customers, Diana Behrend of Slinger, has always been a supporter of local growers.

"I’ve always go to the farmer’s market in West Bend, and I go to the local butcher shops. I like to support them, and I like knowing where my food is coming from. When you don’t buy locally, I think you lose a lot of freshness," Behrend said.

When someone buys from her farm, Susen said, they’ll also benefitting other local businesses.

"I don’t think a lot of people realize how much of an effect it has on other local businesses. It really is a domino effect. If I do good, I’m able to go to Kewaskum Meats and Schwai’s (for more processing) and they do good, and I can go to the local printer for more labels and materials and they do better," she said.

Susen is also a big fan of the local farmer’s markets - which benefit farmers and smaller-scale growers.

"I feel good when I’m there. You know you’re buying items from someone who has worked the soil and worked hard at growing the vegetables - they’ve taken a lot of care in what they do. At farmer’s markets, you can talk to the grower and ask them about the food. There’s much more of a connection than you get from going to the produce section in a store and wondering if the (produce) came from Australia," Susen said.

It’s the quality that has Margaret Gawlik of West Bend purchase her produce from the local Farmer’s Market.

"It’s fresh food and it’s a nice variety," she said.

Not all foods in grocery stores are shipped in from far away places, however.

Stores - including Allison Sentry and Rueben’s County Market in Hartford, Klotz’s Piggly Wiggly in West Bend and Geidel’s Piggly Wiggly in Kewaskum - bring in local foods, including vegetables, fruit, cheese, dairy, meat and other items, like honey, snacks and bakery products.

Buying local has made big gains in the past three years, according to Fred Depies, of Eastern Wisconsin Sustainable Farmers Network and Farm Fresh Atlas of Eastern Wisconsin.

"The first statewide Local Food Summit took place two and a half years ago. The summit created a network for all of us to work together toward logistics and promotion. In 2008, demand for local food took a quantum leap with most farm direct producers having more demand than they can meet. Creating infrastructure to keep up with the increased demand is the biggest challenge right now," he said.

The benefit of eating local isn’t limited to helping the local farmers and businesses, he said.

"Locally grown and processed foods positively impact farmers, communities, consumers, nutrition, the environment and the Wisconsin economy. When you eat locally you eat what’s in season. There is very little disagreement that the fresher the food is eaten, the more nutritional value is available to the body. The enhanced flavor and taste of fresh food is appreciated by most consumers. More consumers want to know how their food was grown or raised and you can know that by interacting with your local farmer. You also reduce the transportation costs of food and support the locally economy. Purchasing locally will circulate the dollar two to three times more than on goods purchased from outside the area."