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Kathy Lyons browses the Sligo Creek Farm organic produce stand at the Olney Farmers and Artists Market just before 11 a.m. in the Olney Town Center parking lot. She is shopping to supplement what she grows in her own organic garden on her farm a few miles down the road.

"Buying local is really important to me, as well as organic," she said. "We're shipping our food too far and picking it too early. It's not good."

Although most people don't have the time, space or ambition to grow organic produce of their own, Lyons isn't alone in her desire for locally grown and organic food. Olney residents have taken such an interest in their groceries during the past several years that restaurants, grocery stores, farms, markets and food co-ops have sprouted up in response.

Every Sunday morning between May and October, people swarm the market, which is populated with local produce growers - organic and non-organic alike - artists and food vendors. This is the market's first full year of operation, and local business owners say it seems to grow more popular every week.

Sharon Dooley, president of the Greater Olney Civic Association and vice president of the farm market executive committee, said organic options in Olney five years ago were limited.

"People had to grow it themselves," she said.

"I don't think it's a fad," she added, referring to the ready supply these days. "More people are concerned about what they're eating. If people have an idea where [their food] was grown, they feel like they're more in control of what they're eating."

In light of recent salmonella contamination scares, Dooley said, consumers may seek out that extra degree of control over their food and reach for locally grown produce.

Across the street from the farmers market is Ricciuti's, an upscale Italian restaurant in Olney House that has been serving locally grown and organic food for 10 years.

Owner and chef James Ricciuti said that in the past year interest in "natural food" has really revved up. "I think it has to do with the demographics," he said. "It's been a boon to business and people really appreciate it."

He said he started out leaning toward having a green restaurant, then changed over time to use seasonal produce, meat and dairy from no more than 100 miles away and more organic food.

Ricciuti occasionally leads cooking parties on Sunday mornings where a dozen participants pick produce from the farm market, bring it back to the kitchen and create a farm-to-table meal based around the ingredients they find.

Although not all the food he serves is organic, Ricciuti said there are benefits of being an eco-friendly restaurant.

"The food tastes better, it keeps the economy local and it encourages sustainability," he said.

He admits that operating this way is more expensive, but said it is worth it. "We've passed the costs on to customers, but they've been willing to pay for it."

Much of Ricciuti's organic produce comes from Our House's 2-acre organic farm on Zion Road in Brookville.

The residential program for at-risk youths offers hands-on experience in the garden growing and selling produce.

Executive Director Richard "Benny" Bienvenue said the veggie patch is certified organic by the state - a significant achievement considering the numerous requirements that must be met to qualify.

"Normally, it's a three-year process," he said. But Dr. Edwin Gould, curator emeritus of the National Zoo, helped Our House earn its certificate in a single year.

Bienvenue said the garden, which has been operating for five years, grows nearly everything but corn. "We grow lettuce, berries, tomatoes, potatoes, rhubarb, squash, peas Ö and the crop that takes three years to produce, asparagus."

As for why there has been an increased interest in organic and farm-fresh food in Olney, Bienvenue believes a combination of factors is responsible.

"People know if they buy locally they will get decent stuff, first of all," he said. "I think people are also getting leery of that mass marketing and stuff coming from 10 states away. They're also noticing all the contamination scares with E. coli and salmonella are generally in large, mass-produced produce."

The seed of the natural food boom in the Olney area may have been planted 14 years ago with the founding of the Sandy Spring Community Supported Agriculture program (SSCSA). Such programs are popular around the country; there are more than 1,000 by some counts.

The idea is essentially subscription produce. Members buy a share of a farmer's crop, and they either pick it up or it is delivered to their door weekly or monthly.

The SSCSA members pick up their shares of the certified-organic vegetable crop at several locations each week by Calvert Farm in Cecil County. Vanessa Strunk is a member of the SSCSA and her home serves as the Rockville pick-up location for about 90 members.

"There has been a lot of growth [of the SSCSA] over the past three or four years," Strunk said. "There were about 60 members to start, but now there are around 360."

She said that a share for the summer costs $545 and a share for the fall is $195, and all shares go on sale in January.

"It's a good value," she added. "If you eat a lot of organic produce now it's expensive, but you get so much more."

Blueberry Gardens on Ashton Road in Ashton offers an even closer-to-the-vine experience for those seeking organic food: You pick your own.

For less than $10 you can drop in on a Saturday or Sunday during the summer and pick a quart of organically grown blueberries. Since they're pesticide free, you can eat them right off the vine.

But for a less-outdoorsy shopper who wants to bring natural food back home, Roots Market in Olney on Georgia Avenue offers organic produce as well.

General Manager Sallie Scott said that since the Olney location opened in June of last year, people have become more interested in eating organic produce.

"I think people are a little more conscious of where their food comes from now," she said. "People are really interested in local food. They want stuff to be coming from their own back yards."

At the Olney Farmers and Artists Market, Leisure World resident Ruth O'Connor has travelled out of her way to peruse the dozen plant and produce vendors.

"It's a departure from Giant," she said with a bag of vegetables slung over her arm. "It's nice to get things right out of the ground."