Jessie Capote's father started growing boniato, or the Cuban sweet potato, on five acres of land off Krome Avenue in Homestead more than 40 years ago. Around the same time, a few miles west, Lynn Chaffin's father-in-law began his own farm of vine-ripened tomatoes.

For decades -- and generations -- as local agriculture has shrunk, and homes and other developments have sprung up, family farms in the South Miami-Dade growing area known as Redland have continued to supply fruits and vegetables to local grocers.

But grocery shoppers wouldn't have noticed the food is locally grown. Following state law, the Capotes' boniato and the Chaffins' tomatoes are labeled simply as ``Fresh from Florida.'' And that doesn't let shoppers know, for example, that Chaffin's tomatoes could have been picked just 12 hours before.

Soon, at least in Publix Super Markets, the produce will bear the label ``Redland-Raised'' as part of a new branding initiative between the grocery chain, Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Agriculture.

The hope is that the new branding, announced on Thursday, will capitalize on the local food movement, which encourages consumers to buy food that has been grown in nearby gardens.

``We thought this would be a great opportunity to educate and create awareness in the community about buying local,'' said Publix spokeswoman Kim Jaeger. The company's philosophy, Jaeger said, is to always try to buy the closest available produce first.

Miami-based food and science writer Holly Hickman said the locally labeled produce would probably bring her back to Publix. ``I literally haven't shopped in Publix since 2005,'' said Hickman, who writes a food blog called SustainableSuppers.com and is a former board member of Slow Food Miami.

Hickman usually shops at local farmers' markets or goes to Whole Foods.

``Something like this makes me think that Publix cares not only about the local economy, but public health, local farmers and the food system,'' she said.

ANOTHER STEP

Whole Foods has already taken it a step further. Its produce labels explain not just where food originates but also what farm it comes from -- and if they're available, it includes photos of the farmers themselves, said local spokesman Russ Benblatt.

``We have some farmers that are so small they can't supply all of our stores. Some farmers deliver directly to stores, such as in Pinecrest,'' Benblatt said. ``We do this throughout the country.''

Whole Foods and Winn-Dixie Stores said they would both be interested in adding the Redland-Raised label to produce.

``Winn-Dixie has done this sort of thing before -- in Alabama,'' spokesman Patrick McSweeney said.

CHANGING LAND

Meanwhile, economic forces have been changing the agricultural way of life in South Miami-Dade.

Back in 1965, a $5,000 loan launched the Capotes' family business,J & C Tropicals, in the United States. Before that, Nibaldo Capote's family had farmed tropical root vegetables in Cuba since the 19th century.

Today, J & C grows boniato, avocados, papayas and zapotes on about 1,750 acres in Homestead. Last year, the company did $40 million in annual sales. Much of that comes from importing and distributing tropical root vegetables grown in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Brazil. The company supplies Publix as well as other retailers across the United States and Canada and has 175 full-time employees.

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