Eating locally raised food is a growing trend, and Trevor Paque is offering a service for those who like the idea, but have little time. San Franciscan Paque will build an organic garden in your backyard, weed it weekly and even harvest the bounty, placing a box of vegetables on the back porch when he leaves.

Mr. Paque is typical of a new breed of business owner serving the needs of city-dwelling locavores. Couples planning a wedding at the Plaza Hotel in New York City can use a “100-mile menu” of food from the caterer’s farm and neighboring fields in upstate New York. Locally grown food, even fully cooked meals, can also be delivered to your door in some places.

Although a completely local diet is out of reach for even the most dedicated, the shift toward it is being driven by the increasingly popular view that fast food is the enemy and that local food tastes better. And long-distance food, with its attendant petroleum consumption and cheap wages, is harming the planet and does nothing to help build communities.