DOWN ON THE FARM

Have you noticed more farm stands around lately?

Driven by consumers’ desire for fresh, local and sustainable foods, farm stands and farmers markets are experiencing a rise in popularity across the country — Eastern Madera County included.

It’s good for the community and it’s good for the makers.

Beach Bum Farms

In Ahwahnee, the Beach Bum Farms stand on Pamela Place belongs to cottage baker Katie Swaney. She sells freshly made goods, eggs and seasonal fruit from the roadside near home.

You can see her “farm stand” sign from Highway 49 at Pike Ranch. Handpies (aka Pop Tarts), cookies, breads, jams, bagels and muffins are among her best sellers.

“We started because I love baking and felt there was a need for locally sourced baked goods,” said Swaney, 35.

“We grow apples and other fruits for our family so it felt like the right move to increase what we were growing to support the bakery. We sell apples, peaches and plums when in season.”

The Beach Bum stand is enhanced by the presence of Nix Hazzard’s Sweetly Cured apothecary kitchen products and complimentary baked goods.

Hazzard sells sweet and savory baked goods including foccacia and sourdough for pickup at the Ahwahnee farm stand weekly along with apothecary items from body butters and salves to bath soak and elderberry syrup kits.

“My goal is to offer clean and herbal infused products along with knowledge on these properties and to encourage the community to the world of natural healing,” shared Hazzard, 41.

“Most of the ingredients are locally sourced and used in our own home daily.”

The women met as stand neighbors at the Ace Hardware Farmers Market in Oakhurst. They recognized pretty quickly their commonalities: both have a talent for making and marketing natural goods coupled with a strong desire for independence.

“And we had a bond because we’re both moms,” Swaney said.

Hazzard has three daughters and Swaney is the mom of two boys.

Both women agree the advantages of a community farm stand are many ± most especially the flexibility and freedom from unwanted expenses.

“It’s hard to do brick and mortar with the overhead and rent,” Swaney explained.

These businesses are subject to the same licensing, rules and restrictions as others. Stringent requirements by the county and state make even a modest farm stand a costly enterprise.

“It’s a big financial investment but with the farm stand we’re in no debt to run it.”

Farming roots

Originally from Indiana, Swaney grew up on a farm where grandma showed her the ropes out in the field, in the barn and back in the kitchen. Now she’s the farmer.

And her family is all in. When they signed the papers to buy their home, the Swaneys already had baby chicks waiting at the post office.

She is strongly in favor of local roots when it comes to cooking and eating.

“Local pollen is your friend,” Swaney said. “I love anything local.” She recently made a trip to Friant to pick oranges and lemons for her spring and summer-forward treats and even makes sure to use Ghirardelli chocolate in her indulgent cookies because it comes from California.

With her inherent love of the oven in the family, Swaney’s husband encouraged the business. Now the farm stand and pre-orders are routinely selling out.

“Pre-orders take out the guesswork.”

In Eastern Madera County and Mariposa, the farm stand and cottage baker/maker people all cross pollinate with one another and other small local businesses to give customers all the options possible.

In addition to the farm stand, Swaney sells at Clash Coffee and Yosemite Pie Co. in Oakhurst, The Farm at Worman Mill stand in Mariposa, the monthly Mountain Artisans Market at

Fresno Flats and at Bryant’s Ace Hardware on Thursdays in Oakhurst beginning May 14.

Sweetly Cured

The Beach Bum Farms stand in Ahwahnee doubles the pleasure and the fun with the addition of Hazzard’s Sweetly Cured line of products, dropped on a weekly basis.

“We love working with other stands and farms,” said Hazzard. “We harvest elderberry from Bootjack, we have local seasonal plants like calendula, feverfew, chamomile and rosemary. There’s such abundance where we live.”

She recommends backyard gardeners buy their plant starts directly from a farmer.

“Get your starts without chemicals,” she said. For instance, “Adam at Worman Mill Farm tests everything and he grows at 3,500 feet so you know it will work around here.”

Hazzard and her family moved to Mariposa from San Diego nearly five years ago. They were tired of renting and wanted to find some land and be more self-sufficient.

Even before that, she found herself drawn to apothecary when one of their daughters couldn’t shake a serious skin rash despite medical intervention.

“We had exhausted all western medicines,” Hazzard said. “I wanted to dig deeper get to the root of where the medicines were derived from and calendula cream was so expensive.”

Hazzard’s mother is from Thailand and her grandmother told her how, when it came to medicine, they “picked it off the tree.” So she leaned in, self-taught, reading everything she could get her hands on to learn more.

Soon her garden began to infuse her kitchen. Now a 40-hour fermented blueberry focaccia bread is among the most flavorful of her prescriptions.

“I took an interest and it became a love.”

Connecting with the land

Hazzard has a solid customer base for her apothecary line of natural remedies as well as baked goods and that influence continues to grow.

When things get too hot in the kitchen, she goes out into the garden to touch dirt and maintain that al l- impor tant connection with the land that she and Swaney cherish.

Beyond online orders, Hazzard will also return to the farmers market in Oakhurst this May and, meanwhile, her goods are available at various drops around town including Triangle Market in Mariposa. The Hazzards also own All About the Wurst catering in Mariposa.

While both Swaney and Hazzard treasure their tasks, the work is not without complication.

For Hazzard, the most challenging part can be maintaining reasonable boundaries and balance.

“The hardest part is saying no to avoid stretching beyond my means,” she said.

“I make 12 to 20 loaves and I’m always baking bigger. There are always last minute requests and you want to provide for people but there are limits to your capability.”

Swaney agrees with that assessment and also said the fees required by the county to run her business can be particularly daunting.

“You have to get your recipes pre-approved and make recipe cards with all the steps and each one is $150 every time,” she noted.

“So even if you have a pre-approved blueberry pastry and you use the same recipe but change the filling to raspberry, you have to get a new approval and pay the fee again.”

So if a cottage baker has four new recipes that’s a big chunk of change.

The people part

Swaney is hopeful Madera County will consider lowering that amount or somehow modifying that requirement so it doesn’t wipe out profits.

But at the end of the day, these entrepreneurs are sold on the lifestyle and its benefits.

“I love being part of special occasions,” said Hazzard. “Like at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I bulk up because of the extra orders and it’s really special to have a seat at your table — people are so excited to see where things are from and how they are made.”

For Swaney, it’s also the people part. Her neighbors are big fans and the feeling is mutual.

“I love meeting people, putting faces to names and seeing them regularly. And my kids love it.”

The satisfaction is as good as the flavor.

“Knowing people like your stuff — that’s nice to know.”

Beach Bum Farms and Sweetly Cured have a wealth of products available, some not mentioned in this article, and their offerings may change seasonally. To find locations and availability and stay up to date, reach out directly.

Find Beach Bum Farms on Instagram, Facebook and Hotplate: www.instagram.com/beachbumfarmsca/ and www.hotplate.com/beachbumfarmsca/. The farm stand is located at 41331 Pamela Place in Ahwahnee.

Find Sweetly Cured/Apothecary Kitchen on Instagram, Hotplate and the website: www.instagram.com/sweetlycured/, sweetlycured.com/ and www.hotplate.com/sweetlycured