I grew up and worked in cities for much of my life, and now live on a farm in the country; if nothing else, I’ve seen the vast cultural differences in wealth, prosperity, and human beings between rural and urban America, a major reason, I believe, for the divisions between us. There are too many rich people in our cities and too many poor people in the country.

One of the many areas where this is striking is the availability of nourishing, healthy, and new ways of eating.

This is about to change radically in our small town in upstate New York. One reason is the coming together of remarkable and committed women who care about good, healthy, and quite delicious food and are bringing their dreams and aspirations to a small corner of rural America. I am told this is happening elsewhere as well.

This is important, so I’m writing about it so much. Today, several powerful dreams came to life together. (Above, Keri, Bernard Farm.)

Today marks a significant milestone in the Bedlam Farm food experience. Three exceptional, bright, and imaginative women have united to offer a unique array of healthy and aesthetically pleasing vegetables, flowers, fruit, nutritional food, soap, honey, and more. They have also introduced a bakery that crafts fresh and extraordinary artisan bread daily (four times a week), setting a new standard in our community.

I don’t know any of these people well, but I am impressed by each and even more by the three of them together. I keep sensing how tough they are and how very together they are, as men rarely are with one another. And you need to be tough to launch a successful new business in a rural American town.

A few years back, Keri Gerard took charge of a dilapidated farmer’s market on Route 22 and transformed it into a sleek and contemporary vegetable stand. Her initiative introduced us to various vegetables, some new to us and healthy. These vegetables have now become a staple in our diet here at the farm, a testament to the market’s influence on our eating habits.

Keri changed the way I eat.

This year, Keri took a bold step forward, joining forces with Nutritionist  Shannon  Woodcock and  Covered Bridge Bread Baker Kean McIlveine to expand the market into a vibrant and diverse food center unlike any other in our area. They also provided space for McIveine to bake fresh bread on-site, surprising the bread world.

Kean brings An award-winning selection of focaccia,   seeded and sourdough bread, scones, and cookies, all available under one roof.

It’s the best bread I’ve ever eaten or tasted, and I had never even eaten focaccia bread. Kean changed the way I eat.

Now, the market offers delicious food and the enticing aroma of freshly baked bread. Kean, who comes from Washington, D.C., started the Covered Bridge Bread Co. during the pandemic. Her seeded whole grain bread, innovative fig, and tomato focaccia are a huge hit. Some of those city ways of eating are delicious—and healthy.

I start my day with her bread every morning, and Maria feels the same way about Keri’s vegetables and Kean’s bread.

Shannon Woodcock is bringing other healthy food to the new food center: fresh strawberries, yogurt and cheese, organic chicken and eggs, salamis and pork, farm flowers, earth pottery, and soap and body care lotion from a local farm. She hasn’t changed how I eat yet, but I suspect she will shortly. I’m a diabetic with heart disease, and nutrition matters to me.

I believe she knows things I can learn from.

As I write this, it may sound like this is a paid ad, but as you know, I don’t do that. I don’t accept payment for anything I write on the blog.

I’m happy to see these three passionate and knowledgeable food enthusiasts transform our long-gone local market into a new kind of food store focusing on healthy eating that tastes great and enlisting and aiding local farmers and farms. The latest food center reeks of community, a growing force in our county.

The new market is located on busy Route 22, just a few miles north of Cambridge, where we live.

I visited today and picked up some flowers for my garden, while Maria got some fresh herbs for hers. I plan to return tomorrow for my bread, which has become a staple in our home and sold out instantly on Bernard Farms’ first day.

This new enterprise is just down the road from our farm. I’ll be there frequently and take it seriously, as will Maria. Keri grows gorgeous flowers on top of everything else, including soap. I can’t wait to take some pictures.

These three people are formidable, intelligent, hard-working, creative, and determined. If I’m never a “local,” which is fine with me, I will have lived here long enough to see real change when it comes. It’s coming just down the road from Bedlam Farm.

City snobs, look out.