"What would you do if you could no longer make furniture?" Kris Travis asked her husband about ten years ago.

"I guess I'd grow stuff," Marty Travis, a carpenter, responded.

"Then why don't you start doing it?" Kris suggested.

This initial conversation prompted the couple to move back to Fairbury, Ill. and live out their dream.

They packed up and headed to Spence Farm, which Marty's family has owned for 179 years.

They began modestly. But now, the couple runs a thriving 10-acre vegetable farm that provides specialty crops to many high-end restaurants. Marty still makes furniture, but the demands of the farm are his first priority.

"We continue to find weird stuff that is endangered or unavailable that chefs want," Marty said.

Every Friday night Marty sends 50 chefs an e-mail containing available food.

By Monday afternoon, chefs e-mail him back and begin to plan their week.

The restaurants' menus change based on what Marty is available, and depending on the time of the year, they can range from everything from wild leeks to Iroquois white corn.

Thad Morrow, who runs Bacaro, 113 N. Walnut St., is currently the only restaurant owner outside the Chicago area that is a Spence Farm customer.

"They have produce that tastes great," Morrow said. "I like working with someone I know, and customers like to know where I get my produce — it's all about relationships."

Morrow first met Marty when he was on the hunt for ramps, a rare wild leek. Now, Morrow is a regular customer who also purchases black walnuts, shell beans and other ingredients.

"It's so sustainable," Morrow said. "Buying locally just makes more sense."

Along with Spence Farm, Marty also helped to found Stewards of the Land, an organization of about 25 small farms run by young farmers.

According to Marty, those farmers, who are mostly under the age of 18, look to gross about $200,000 total this year.

"Our mission is to try to increase the number of young farmers in Central Illinois," he said.

When asked if Marty thought all the success would happen ten years ago, he heartily laughed and explained that, though they have had financial success, their main mission was and is to educate people.

"I think the more we can build local food systems, the stronger we become as a community." he said.

One of the biggest surprises, he said, was being interviewed for a story in The New York Times Magazine in August. A writer and photographer spent two days snapping pictures and interviewing the family about life on the farm.

"It really made us proud," he said.

Marty said he thinks the bad economy has changed the way people think about local sustainability.

"I honestly think there is a whole different atmosphere and appreciation," he said.

Spence Farm's future goals include trying to find more "weird" produce to grow and expanding the vegetable farm from 10 acres to 100 acres. Marty also hopes to replicate the Stewards of the Land model.

"We want people to understand that money can stay in the community," Marty said. "That small, family farms are still viable."