Past the park, into the forest and to… a farm stand?
Just past Keizer Rapids Park is the Fischer Family Farm Store, a new farm stand now located on the property of Kyle and Jasmin Fischer. The couple owns the 9-acre property just east of the park, which is separated from the park by a gate. The Fischers said they started it as a way to connect with the community, leave a legacy for their daughter, Clover, and share the wealth of their property. It’s a “dream come true” to have the small farm and stand, they said.
The farm stand opened in early August, a marine shed that Kyle built and furnished himself. Inside, small shelves and shelved bins contain goods that were either grown, collected, harvested or made by the couple. Due to its small size, the stand is only open Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The couple from Eugene bought the property just a year ago. They said if you had asked them a few years ago if this would be their life, they wouldn’t have believed it. Jasmin said it had always been her dream to have a property where she could keep chickens, while Kyle wasn’t so keen. Eventually they settled down and Clover was born.
Check out Keizer’s newest farm stand
The small farm stand is a shed with a custom logo and signs reading “Fresh produce,” “Fresh farm eggs,” and “Honey for sale.” Next to the entrance is a board with changing opening hours and other special offers.
The shelves are filled with summer produce, currently tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, blueberries, cucumbers, green beans, figs, carrots and foraged blackberries. On the shelves to the left are jars of honey and hand-poured beeswax candles, which Jasmin says are harvested from the two beehives on the property.
There are also homemade jams, preserves, canned goods, dry goods, spices and baked goods. Baked goods include loaves of bread, cookies and muffins, with cakes planned for the fall.
Everything is made in small batches as the couple makes everything themselves. They said it’s a laborious but rewarding process. Jasmine has added homemade products because she likes the making process, while Kyle is great at prep, making it a “great system.”
Jasmin has a passion for herbalism and natural remedies, which is why she also makes tea blends and an ointment and offers fresh herbs at the stand.
They originally planned to be open all week, but the huge demand in the first week made them realize they couldn’t keep up. Being open three days provides enough time to source, manufacture and restock goods.
The couple also plans to plant a small pumpkin patch to prepare for next year, Jasmin said.
To be as accessible as possible, they have applied to participate in the Farm Direct Nutrition Program (FDNP) with the aim of potentially enrolling families in the Women’s, Infants and Children (WIC) program.
Gathering everything for the Fischer Family Farm Store
The pair said they began creating the project over six months ago, when Clover was just two months old.
The property they live on had beehives and an orchard before they moved in, but it’s mostly wooded, Jasmin said. She grew up on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where her family taught her to forage and she learned to figure out what was and wasn’t edible throughout the region. She’s foraged wild garlic, mushrooms, blackberries and other herbs on the property.
Kyle built a duck pond and chicken run, including a pond to house the birds, which added to his new-found love of building. The pair had never raised chickens or ducks before. They have a small number of laying hens of each species and sell the eggs. Jasmin said the duck eggs are very popular but only available in limited quantities.
The orchard on the property grew apples, pears and plums (which will be available in the fall), and other produce was grown in the greenhouse.
Kyle said he never thought he would own a farm or anything like that since he graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a degree in advertising. But working in advertising was too boring for him, so when his family moved to Newburg to start their winery, Late Sky Wine, they decided to move to Salem.
He said he had beat his family to the punch and started their own business, as Late Sky Wine opens next month. In the meantime, he said the family was “over the moon” about the farming venture.
“When I was younger, I stayed away from working in agriculture, but now I enjoy it much more just being back in nature and not sitting at a computer,” Kyle said. “This work is fulfilling and so much fun… but now it’s almost never enough.”
For more information about the booth offerings, visit thefischerfamilyfarm.com.
Address: 2080 Chemawa Road N, Keizer
Em Chan covers food and dining for the Statesman Journal. You can reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @meet Emily.
