The taste for fresh, organic food in Illinois -- one of the country's agricultural hubs -- is outpacing the ability of local farmers to provide it.

The number of farmers markets in the state has more than doubled in the last decade to 220 from 97 in 1999. And demand continues to rise dramatically as some consumers willingly pay a premium for the health and environmental benefits of local and organic meats and produce.

But Illinois and surrounding states are facing a dearth of farmers who willing and able to produce this food and endure the hardships of getting it to big markets in urban areas.

“Farmers can’t grow enough to meet demand,” said Yescenia Mota, who oversees farmers markets at the Mayor’s Office of Special Events in Chicago.

Every community in Chicago has enough demand for local food to support a farmers market, Mota said. The problem is bringing in the farmers who are willing to hopscotch between markets for days at a time and to incur the expense of transporting food to urban consumers.

Setting up a stall in a Chicago farmers market can seem like more trouble than it’s worth to some farmers, who have to eat fuel costs themselves and comply with a laundry list of rules and regulations.

“Transportation’s always a concern,” said David Hanen, a florist from Saint Anne who said he was interested in tapping into the Chicago market, but didn’t know if his farm could supply the manpower to do so.

Chris Bedford, president of the Sweetwater Local Foods Market in Montague, Mich., said farmers markets need to be accessible to a wider range of consumers to make them more attractive to farmers. Markets that accept food stamps, for example, can sell food to customers who wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise.

Food stamps could also open farmers markets to so-called “food deserts,” areas of the city that lack adequate grocery stores and other food retailers. One farmers market in Sioux City, Iowa, generates as much as a quarter of its sales in the form of food stamps, Bedford said.

The farmers market in Logan Square, on Chicago’s Northwest Side, is the only one among the city’s more than 20 markets that accepts food stamps. That market’s director, Paul Levin, said markets could also work with local chefs, who are often willing to pay top dollar for quality food. That too would widen farmers’ customer base.

Another solution to the problem of getting food from small rural farms to consumers in large, urban markets could lie with wholesalers who specialize in the distribution of specialty and fresh foods.

“There’s a natural limit to how far you can go selling direct” to consumers, said Irv Cernauskas, co-founder of Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks, a wholesaler who  delivers meat, dairy and produce directly to the doorsteps of Chicago area residents.

Wholesalers pay farmers less than they would get selling directly to consumers, but they can purchase large amounts of food, and provide income for farmers in the winter when most markets are closed. They also spare the farmers transportation costs and travel time.

Michelle Dietzler, who raises grass-fed cattle in Elkhorn, Wis., sells some of her natural beef through an Illinois wholesaler.

“It’s been great for me,” Dietzler said. “It’s year-round business.”