This article was originally published in The Examiner on Feb. 9, 2017.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
Feb. 18 marks the beginning of the Beaumont Farmers’ Market’s eighth year. The market, located at the Beaumont Athletic Complex off College Street, will be officially open Saturday, Feb. 18, from 8-11 a.m.
Becki Stedman, who co-founded the Beaumont Farmers’ Market (BFM) with her friend, Sarah Parmer, said they will be there “every Saturday, rain or shine.”
“We’re going to be starting with winter vegetables, leafy greens,” Stedman said. “There may be some citrus left, you’ll start seeing broccoli, perhaps some Brussels sprouts, all the winter vegetables.”
This year, customers should expect to see the grass-fed longhorn beef from the Wild Earth Texas cattle company, located in LaBelle, in addition to tamales and handmade soaps, Stedman said. Local crafts will be featured the second Saturday of each month.
A group of Mennonite women from Spring, Louisiana, which is within the 150 mile radius that BFM requires for vendors, bring homemade bread and other wares.
“It’s killer,” Stedman said. “They work very, very hard, and they have some excellent product out there.”
Beaumont didn’t have a farmers’ market for about 20 years before Stedman and Palmer founded BFM, she said. They began the first season with six vendors and ended with 18.
Beaumont Farmer’s Market averages 18-22 vendors per year. Stedman sees an average of 40 to 45 people who apply to sell throughout the year, since some come with specialized items such as strawberries or blueberries.
“It’s fresh, it’s locally grown,” Stedman said. “Venture away from your regular routine of grocery shopping just one time and see how you like it.”
In the meantime, Jim LaBove and his wife, Dodie, are out under the pavilion most Saturdays since the first of the year selling plants and grapefruit, as well as his books Cotton’s Seafood and Sketches of My Cajun Life.
Eleanor Skelton 