Farmstand offers locally grown and raised options

What in the world did people do before grocery stores were the standard in every town? Back before running to aisle 12 for fruit snacks replaced eating sweet raspberries from a bush. Long are times when everyone gathered eggs each morning, milked their cows, grew produce and canned for the winter.

Recent Superior transplant Becca Dickinson recognized that this pre-supermarket era, “Wasn't that long ago.” 

She continued, “Where was our food before then? It was in our backyards, in our community. I believe with all of my heart that everyone is entitled to fresh and well-made food with clean ingredients.”

Dickinson is a green thumb homesteader with a passion for growing, baking and now running her very own farm stand. For a glimpse and a taste of those old-fashioned ways drive out to 1486 Mullan Road West on Saturdays to check out B’s Farm Stand.

With the help of her handyman mill working husband, the couple designed and built the road side stand out of reused materials. Dickinson stocks the wooden drive-up pantry with her homemade peach jam, salsa, sourdough bread, French bread, chocolate chip cookies, zucchini bread, tomatoes, eggs, artichokes, green beans, and green chilis.

Originally, from small-town Rainier, Washington, Dickinson grew up on the Rocking R Ranch, a cattle ranch and tree farm. 

“My husband and I moved out here in winter of 2022 as he found a better job working at the Bonner mill,” she said.

Dickinson also helped at her mom’s café as a teenager and was responsible for a number of farm and duties at home.

Now married and a mother to three boys, she exclaimed, “I love gardening and baking things from scratch, so sharing with others in my community definitely fills my cup.” 

Dickinson had wanted to start a little farmstand for several years, but she dismayed, “But it just never seemed to be the right timing.”

That is until now. B’ Farm Stand started selling to the public on Sept 14.

“My first day opening the stand was really good, knowing the demand for future days will help with not having as much left over,” she said.

“To be frank, I was happy if I made $5, and I definitely surpassed that goal and have had so much love and support from the community. I will definitely have to find my niche and tweak the amounts I have offered at my stand as the weeks go on.”

Throughout harvest time what’s available to customers will vary. And Dickinson also has to prepare her own family for the months ahead.

“As for my garden, I always make sure my family is stocked up first before I serve others,” she explained. “As a family, our goal is to grow, raise and hunt for the majority of our food sources. I have a big passion for canning and food preservation as I grew up learning with my mom. Plus, it feels really good to know what I am feeding my family and where it came from.”

Dickinson won't shy away from trying to grow new things, and next spring she has big plans for a second garden.

“I have always had a passion for homesteading, as that's the way I grew up and the way I want to raise my children,” she said.

“I really feel that as time goes on, we get lazy and lazier when it comes to modern conveniences,” Dickinson expressed. “I take a heck of a lot of pride in my stocked root cellar that my time and sweat went into creating, so that my family could eat all year round.”

Canning and preserving homegrown food was once the family norm in society, before it was replaced by commercialized produce and convenience. In 1930 in Queens, New York the first supermarket opened its doors. It was called King Kullen. 

Along with the normalization of residential refrigeration, the creation of cellophane to keep food fresh, and the popularity of the automobile, the way American’s fed their families profoundly began to change. Nearly 100 years of “progress” and modernizations later, a cultural shift of returning to these long-lost practices is brewing like a sourdough starter.

Dickinson conveyed, “They need to know and understand where food comes from and the processes it takes from getting it to the dinner table. Growing and preserving your own food is not only a great way to save money and cut down on the cost of groceries, but it's also something that is a lost art. For our ancestors, it was the only way.”

B’s Farm Stand plans to stay open every Saturday until Thanksgiving, and then closing for the season until spring. 

“I was hoping to kick off early and plan on having pies, dinner rolls and possibly other side dishes available the day before the holiday, if there is a demand for something of the sort,” she said.

As a stay-at-home mom, having the farm stand within view works well, but still allows for privacy. 

Dickinson laughed though. 

“My boys definitely created permanent nose prints on the living room window trying to catch a glimpse of customers. I think a farm stand is very practical.” 

Supply of produce and a variety of goodies will be available until sold out each Saturday. They work on an honor system and have a cash drop box, as well as Venmo and cash-app codes.