Balm for the soul
Farm stands — and specialties like Lemon Balm Cookies — are helping farms get by this year
On the edge of a field on the outskirts of town, a small roadside farm stand does a brisk business. Display coolers keep herbs, greens and other sensitive veggies properly chilled, as tomatoes, potatoes, onions and other room temperature produce sit there looking pretty in crates. The policies and electronic payment information are posted on the wall above a table laden with homemade soap and bags of Lemon Balm Cookies.
Tasha Slotinck, 20, stands in the parking lot holding an armful of just- harvested rainbow chard, waiting for a quiet moment to replenish the veggie cooler. She’d returned home from college when the pandemic hit, and is now studying remotely and helping to run the family stand as a side gig. When it’s busy, she makes frequent trips to the field to keep the shelves stocked.
Farm stands are an old idea whose time had come back, even before COVID bonked the food supply chain. To the farmer, it’s an easy way to market surplus produce. Or at least that’s how it usually is. This year, with farmers markets shut down or restricted and restaurant business slowed to a halt, farm stands are increasingly load- bearing.
They are an obvious meeting point for drop- offs and deliveries, reducing the traffic of strangers onto the farm — a benefit that’s all the more useful during COVID but will undoubtedly continue far beyond it.
Tasha’s mom, farm boss Kim Murchison, began selling Lemon Balm Cookies as a draw when produce was still sparse. Kim figured anything that got customers in the door could help. It turns out that shoppers couldn’t get enough plant starts, as they prepared to homestead in their backyards until the pandemic passed. They bought Lemon Balm Cookies, too. Lots of them.
The farm stand is doing about four times the business it did last year, thanks
mostly to the virus, Kim assumes. This summer, with restaurant and market sales down, Kim credits that stand with “getting them through” this winter.
Which isn’t to say there weren’t rough spots. Early on, Kim realized that a certain local kid was paying visits, and not for the tomato starts. He wasn’t paying for his cookies, either.
This, unfortunately, is a problem that many farm stands face. Some farmers near me have installed wildlife cameras tripped by motion to deal with breakdowns in the honor system, while others accept a bit of dishonesty as the price of not living in fear.
The cookie thief didn’t
take anything but Lemon Balm Cookies, and if you are lucky enough to try them you might sympathize with this little boy. They are minimally baked and crumbly, making a lovely coffee sponge, and have a satisfying bite of lemon and a swirl of subtle aromas from the herbs.
Lemon balm can be hard to find. At my farmers market you might find it in spring as a bedding plant, but nobody is bringing the fresh herb in summer. Kim suggests substituting basil or mint, both of which I tried — successfully — before inadvertently discovering that the two herbs combined are my favorite.