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The market for local food - food that is produced, processed, distributed and sold within a specific region, say a radius of several hundred miles - is growing. Large, small and midsized farms are all tapping into it. Even better, new data suggest that these producers are employing more workers than they would be if they weren't selling into local and regional markets.

According to a report released last week by the AARP Foundation and the University of Kentucky, food insecurity among older Americans has increased dramatically since 2001. The study said about 10 percent of Ohioans 50 to 59 years old - the youngest of the baby boomers - are considered at risk of hunger. Mid-Ohio, whose business is up 44 percent over the past four years, aims to distribute 6 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables this harvest season, Baumgartner said. By comparison, the food bank provided 10 million pounds of produce all of last year.