Food, Fresh from the Hands that Raised It

Since the Saturday Red Stick Farmers Market opened 26 years ago, Betty and John Chenier have participated, manning a booth stacked with dozens of different varieties of produce grown on their 40-acre Opelousas farm. It all started when their agriculture extension agent introduced the idea of selling direct to consumers at the fledgling Red Stick Farmers Market.

“We were looking for a place to sell our produce, because we didn’t have the traffic in Opelousas,” Betty Chenier recalls. “I hesitated because it was a long drive, but we went, and we’ve been going ever since.”

Regular customers of the Cheniers drop by their booth every Saturday, eager to try the many different varieties of fresh produce the couple grows. This time of year, that means leafy greens like kale, spinach and mustard greens, broccoli and cauliflower, scallions and winter squash, fresh eggs and honey gathered from the farm’s beehives. The couple keeps about 10 acres in production, using sustainable methods that are good for the land.

“We don’t use harsh chemicals,” Betty says. “We’re passionate about sustainable farming.”

The Cheniers greet many of their customers by name, engaging in friendly conversation about how they prepared last week’s purchases.

“I try to plant different things for different cultures and cooking styles,” Betty says. “Sometimes people will even ask us to grow a particular variety of something, and we try to do it.”

After tending their crops all week, the Cheniers are up at 3 am every Saturday morning to drive to Baton Rouge for market day. They sell nearly everything they bring, Betty says. Over the years they’ve brought more and more produce, she adds.

“We grow 40-50 crops each season,” she says. “The market has really grown a lot over the years.”

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