'Food with a conscience': Farmer's market returns to Camdenton this weekend

CAMDENTON - The Farmer's Market is ready for its annual re-opening this weekend on the Square in front of the courthouse.

Started in 1985, the farmer's market features produce, plants, flowers and country-oriented crafts from local growers and producers.

Sandy Nelson is the secretary/ treasurer of the Farmer's Alliance for Rural Missouri, which puts on the weekly event. She says she became involved one year because she had extra tomatoes.

'I grew too many tomatoes one year, and it expanded to garlic and chili peppers,' she said.

She said the Camdenton Farmer's Market generally only has produce and products from the five surrounding counties. Occasionally they will accept products from out-of-state growers, but only if its produce that isn't already grown locally.

Nelson believes that the produce is healthier this way, as it doesn't have to travel such a long distance.

'There's a lot more variety because it doesn't have to travel across the country to stock shelves. Some produce doesn't have a very long shelf life, so grocery stores won't stock it.'

It also helps the local economy.

'By buying locally, you are putting money back into the community. You are supporting your community,' she said.

Conway, Mo., farmer and farmer's market vendor Teddi Bechard agrees.

'By supporting your own community, you support your own economy, you help put jobs in your own area,' she said. 'It's a cycle. It all comes back.'

The Bechard family moved from Denver seven years ago to start a farm after Bechard's husband, Armand, began reading about all the health benefits of grass-fed meats and dairy. Bechard said the move completely changed her and her family's life.

'I used to suffer from massive migraines all the time. I would bend down wrong and would have to spend three or four days in bed with a migraine. Once I started eating foods that we were producing, they went completely away,' she said.

Bechard also uses her mother, who lives with them on the farm, as an example.

'My mother used to be severely diabetic using huge amounts of insulin every day. After two years of living with us, and eating what we were eating, she's completely off insulin. She doesn't take blood pressure medicine, or cholesterol medicine. She's the healthiest I've ever seen her. It's a matter of life or death to me.'

The Bechard family sells meats, poultry, whole wheat bread and even soaps at the farmer's market.

'We are small enough to care,' she says making reference to factory farms. 'We grow our food with a conscience because we have to look our customers in the eye every time we have to sell something to them.'

Nelson said one of her favorite products from the Bechard farm is the stone-ground whole wheat bread. Bechard says even if you go to the grocery store and pick up a loaf of bread that says stone-ground whole wheat bread on it, it won't taste anything like hers for the simple fact that her family actually grinds the wheat minutes before they make the bread.

'There's wheat germ oil inside the wheat kernel. It goes rancid about 72 hours after grinding. That's not enough time for grocery stores to bake the bread and get it to store shelves, much less sell it. So they remove the germ oil and there are actually a lot of health benefits to it.'

Bechard says her family makes 'whole wheat products that are fresh. It takes a lot of work. We wouldn't do it if we didn't love it,' she said. 'But it's just really satisfying to sit down at the table and know that 3/4 of what's on your plate, you grew or raised yourself.'

Bechard has a warning for those who have never been to a farmer's market though,

'A farmer's market is definitely not the place to get a bargain. It's for people looking for quality product made by a person who can look you in the eye. But,' she said, 'there will also be vendors and people there to answer all of your questions.'

The Camdenton Farmer's Market will be open from 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays from May 5 through October in front of the Camdenton Courthouse. There is also another farmer's market from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays in the Palisades parking lot located on Highway 54 and Route KK.

Contact this reporter at deannaw@lakesunleader.com