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Despite a lackluster economic climate and determined competition from large commercial retailers, farm direct markets continue to increase in number throughout the United States. Although this trend has been widely acknowledged in the literature, there has been little attempt to explain the forces behind it. This study examines the recent flood of popular and alternative media sources that have popularized local and direct food markets. While acknowledging the clear influence of these sources, the article uses both empirical and interdisciplinary qualitative analysis to critically examine tile trend. Building upon Frederick Kirschenmann's discussion of the "conversational marketplace." this study investigates the ways in which consumers engage and reciprocate the dominant narratives of consumer food culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]