R.I. Royal potatoes are sold under the Narragansett Premium label in stores including Belmont Grocery, Dave’s Marketplace, Ruggieri’s Market and, here, Eastside Marketplace.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

Farm Fresh Rhode Island is promoting a real spud — the R.I. Royal, a creamy, white flesh potato.

A cooperative of Rhode Island potato farmers, and one nearby Massachusetts farmer, is marketing local potatoes, said Ken Ayars, chief of the Division of Agriculture for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. They are sold under the label of Narragansett Premium Rhode Island Potatoes and are packed in clear bags with a purple border. (Other packaged Narragansett potatoes aren’t always local potatoes.)

Potatoes are an old agricultural product of Rhode Island, said Ayars, with its coastal climate and fertile ground. Most of those former farms are now turf, he added.

But those remaining are banding together to advance their product. They are Ferolbink Farms in Tiverton, Lacerda and Quonset View Farms, both in Portsmouth, the Young Family Farm in Little Compton and Sampson Farms in Westport.

The potatoes are sold in the produce aisle of local stores including Belmont Market, Dave’s Marketplace, Ruggieri’s Market and Eastside Marketplace.

The cost varies: Ruggieri’s sells the 5-pound bag for $1.99, $2.49 at Belmont Market and $2.99 at Eastside Marketplace and Dave’s.

“We think revitalized farm-to-grocer connections will be a foundation for more secure farms and more secure food that will benefit Rhode Island’s farmers and eaters for generations to come,” said Noah Fulmer, executive director, Farm Fresh Rhode Island.

This new effort seeks to expand on the success of such local products as Rhody Fresh Milk and Rhody Warm Blankets (a cooperative effort of sheep farmers) and Rhody Meats.

More and more the community is focused on buying local products from local producers and that is good for the state’s farmers, Ayars said.

The key to keeping farming in place is economic viability for the farms, he added. The many efforts to keep farmland from being developed isn’t the solution for preserving local farms because it generates no profit for farmers. On the other hand, selling their products does.

He said the state is supporting the potato cooperative efforts financially with marketing. A distributor, Nathan Canaan with W.J. Canaan, has been key in getting the local product out fast and fresh.

He said the state has also been successful in getting local potatoes into the schools for use in lunches.

gciampa@projo.com