Lettuce Soup, Anyone?

Long before the first hint of morning light creeps over the horizon, Kevin O’Dare is hard at work checking on his customers’ inventories before driving out to his farm west of Vero Beach. Here, he pulls fresh greens from the rich, fertile soil to load into his car for delivery to hotels, clubs and restaurants on the barrier island and beyond. It’s a taxing schedule. Even his own son told him the work was too hard. But this is O’Dare’s life and passion.

Osceola Organic Farm is Vero Beach’s only certified organic farm dedicated to growing the healthiest, freshest food possible while adhering to the strict parameters laid out by the United States Department of Agriculture’s organic certification program. O’Dare’s commitment to providing produce grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers or genetically engineered ingredients is of paramount importance to him. “I grow the best food in the world and for me to contaminate it would kill me,” he says. 

And he’s not alone in his quest for healthy, back-to-nature victuals. In recent years, a food revolution has quietly been sweeping the country – a movement “locavores” sometimes refer to as farm-to-table, slow food or zero kilometer food where restaurants and hotels grow everything right on the property. What started as a grassroots effort to support farmers and reduce the carbon footprint has quickly gone mainstream, and the demand for locally sourced farm produce has increased exponentially. More consumers than ever are subscribing to the nurture, nature and neighborhood philosophy: How does it taste and make me feel? How is it made? Where does it come from?