With roots going back to the '70s, non-profit Georgia Organics is riding a wave of popularity in local and organic foods. Underneath the Georgia Organics name, is a growing family of programs spanning organics, local food economics, sustainability issues, and health.

Recently, Georgia Organics launched a successful "I’m a local" program to help people identify who is growing the food, who is cooking the food and where you can buy the food.

"There is a supply shortfall of organic and local food", said Alice Rolls, executive director of Georgia Organics, who came from a background in environmental nonprofit management. "Our agriculture has gone global, consolidated and reduced the number of farms. Now consumer interest is pushing us back to earlier times to connect with farms and farmers. "

The movement is about developing a thriving network of regional farms, community gardens, backyard farming and connecting stores, restaurants and institutions in between. The shift is from a commodity-based centralized agriculture system to a community-based agriculture system.

"We are pleased things are changing. For example, the University of Georgia has hired a sustainable agriculture coordinator and offers an organic certificate program. This may be a precursor to the University offering a degree in organic agriculture, " Rolls said.

To learn more about Georgia Organics, buy the November/December edition of Touch the Soil magazine at a retail outlet or subscribe online.