Family in Lawton, Oklahoma Opens Town’s First Ever Self Serve Farmstand

It takes a lot of faith in people to put valuables out in the open for anyone to take and trust that they'll leave the right amount of money in exchange. But one Lawton woman has enough faith in the Lawton community to introduce the area's first ever self serve farmstand.

The concept is simple: Sophia Wessels makes the goods and sets them on the farmstand. Anyone interested can take what they want and either leave the cash there or cashapp her using the code and information included there at the stand. Although the farmstand idea relies on trust and morals, it never hurts to have a little extra security, so there are cameras watching the stand just in case.

Lawton shoppers can stop by on weekends to get goodies from the farmstand.

The Daniels Farmstand, located on the east side of Lawton on Sullivan drive, will be open mainly on the weekends, weather permitting. She'll be serving up homemade artisan bread, homemade strawberry jam, homemade chocolate chip easter cookies and homemade chocolate chip banana bread, among other homemade goods.

Wessels opened the farmstand after reaching out to the Lawton community via Facebook and expressing that she noticed they were becoming more popular. She noticed that the nearest farmstands are currently in Duncan and wanted to know if the work would be worth it for other Lawtonians. "It would be a self serve farm stand and that obviously comes with some concern of stealing and vandalism,"  she said, "but if anyone is ever interested in visiting a farm stand, I’d love to open one!"

And now, here we are!

Self-serve, hopefully a soon to be growing trend in Oklahoma.

Self-serve farmstands are way more common in places like Vermont and Massachusetts, but hopefully Oklahomans can start to catch on to the trend. There are a few tips and tricks from the Farm Bureau for those who are like Wessels and want to start their own self serve farmstand.

• Smaller, lighter structures will likely need to be packed away when not being used.
• Does your area have a lot of traffic and offer decent parking for multiple customers?
• Consider the fact that some foods may require a permit to be sold in Oklahoma.
• Make sure you read up on proper packaging, labeling and display requirements for your goods to ensure you're covered legally.

For more tips and tricks from the Farm Bureau, click here.

Where to spot a local self serve farmstand in Oklahoma.

Several farms in northern Oklahoma have their own self serve farmstands in various locations, usually by the roadside. While you may not make a specific trip to these places, you can at least bookmark this list of well-maintained farmstands in Oklahoma for your next road trip.

Tate Family Farm - Cache, Oklahoma

Peace of Prairie Farm - Muskogee, Oklahoma

Menchard Family Farm - Clinton, Oklahoma

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