Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Procoro Jeronimo, 45, went to his yearly physical in late June. Doctors told him to lay off the bread and replace it with lettuce. <\/p>\n
The professional baker was wary, aware that lettuce was linked to an ongoing outbreak \u2014 caused by the single-celled parasite cyclospora \u2014 <\/a>causing explosive bowel movements. <\/p>\n Wanting to stay healthy for his five children, he caved, finding solace in not hearing about specific cases in Philadelphia. <\/p>\n A week later, mid lettuce bite, Jeronimo learned that not only was Pennsylvania officially added to the CDC list of the states affected<\/a>, but also that the outbreak was linked to now-recalled Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and sold at grocery stores, as well as Taco Bell and other restaurants. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was it,\u201d Jeronimo said. \u201cIt stopped feeling safe.\u201d<\/p>\n The family ditched their grocery store produce section for the vegetable and fruit stand at the Dickinson Square Farmers\u2019 Market in the city\u2019s Pennsport area. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard, because most of our food, like pozole<\/a>, includes lettuce,\u201d Jeronimo said, checking tomato ripeness in front of farmer Bruce Santino\u2019s stand Sunday morning. <\/p>\n \u201cLettuce is cheaper at the grocery store; I went from paying $8 to $10 per month for lettuce to paying $20. I guess that is the price for mental peace,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n Jeronimo is not the only one willing to pay more for the feeling of safety. South Philly resident Marie Abbondanza, 42, also abandoned her grocery store produce to walk with her toddler and shop at the farmers\u2019 market. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are choosing to get all of our produce from the market because we don\u2019t want to get sick and we want to support the local farmers,\u201d Abbondanza said. \u201c[Grocery stores are] really expensive and their produce isn\u2019t really good, so if we have to pay a little bit more and the quality is better, it\u2019s enough for me.\u201d<\/p>\n So far this year, Pennsylvania health officials <\/a>confirmed at least 45 cases of cyclosporiasis. That number already surpassed the 40 cases the state experienced in 2025, but still below the 87 reported in 2024. <\/p>\n In the last two to three weeks, Dickinson Square Farmers\u2019 Market has seen the volume of visitors increase by about 15%, said Ben Bergman, 48. <\/p>\n Bergman helps oversee Dickinson Square as well as four other farmers\u2019 markets citywide. <\/p>\n \u201cIt looks to be a little safer here because the food is grown closer to you,\u201d Bergman said. \u201cIt has less opportunity to become infected with something.\u201d<\/p>\n The increase is being seen by the operators of other farmers\u2019 markets.<\/p>\n According to Bridget Palombo, director of healthy food access programming at the Food Trust<\/a>, it\u2019s not automatically the case that farmers\u2019 market produce is safer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all depends on the processes that people follow,\u201d Palombo said. \u201cBut there seems to be more trust in the products when people can speak to those growing it and bringing it to the market.\u201d<\/p>\n The Food Trust operates three year-round markets, three seasonal farm stands, and multiple pop-up markets citywide. Seeing an uptick in foot traffic makes Palombo believe that transparency is a big reason behind the feeling of safety Philadelphians are finding in farmers\u2019 markets. <\/p>\n Farmers\u2019 market visitors get to ask the farmers where their food comes from, what kind of pesticides they used (if any), and how it was harvested. <\/p>\n That transparency does come with a stiffer price tag. <\/p>\n Farmers\u2019 markets are opportunities to purchase directly from producers, allowing the local farms to charge the full, fair cost of production, where corporate farms can cut corners, Palombo said. <\/p>\n \u201cLettuce from the local farmer has probably traveled only a fifth of the time in and out of cold storage; it\u2019s touched fewer hands; and they are paying their staff livable wages, giving them breaks, and treating them in humane ways,\u201d Palombo said. <\/p>\n At the Dickinson Square Farmers\u2019 Market, farmer Bruce Santino, 38, said he can attest to the care that goes into all of his produce, and how despite the cyclosporiasis outbreak<\/a> and the uptick in clientele, his business has tried to keep prices steady. <\/p>\n