Located less than 20 miles northwest of Springfield, the community of Ash Grove sits between farmland and subdivisions. Here, single mom and homesteader Jasmine LeBlanc is building relationships between farmers and rural counties, driven by her conviction that local food can strengthen bodies and communities.
Jasmine’s story, deeply rooted in faith, didn’t start with a business plan. It started with a calling.
Originally from Vermont, Jasmine grew up amidst the steady rhythms of self-sufficiency. In 2020, she began to feel nudged toward a more intentional form of homesteading.
At first, Jasmine assumed that nudge would keep her in Vermont, but in June 2020, an unexpected door opened that landed her in Fordland, Missouri. By November of the same year, she and her four children had moved onto a multi-acre piece of land.
As she added livestock to her homestead and learned the differences between the soil of Vermont and Missouri, production grew alongside her desire to connect with the community. When she began to look for an avenue to connect, short term ideas were met with obstacles. Still, Jasmine refused to give up on the momentum in her spirit.
Through efforts with other local producers and farmers, Jasmine connected with a local organizer and officially joined the farmers market scene in 2021. Customers were eager for local honey, produce, and farm goods, and by 2022 she was asked to take over leadership of the Ash Grove Farmers Market.
It was then that her vision began to take shape. Drawing on her experience in Vermont, one of the national leaders in small scale, diversified agriculture, Jasmine saw how far the local food infrastructure could advance with effort. Missouri had talented producers but lacked systems to efficiently connect farmers with rural communities. While farmers markets are beloved by many in Missouri, limitations impacted the consistency with which customers could engage. She noticed farmers giving up entire days for a few hours of sales and customers eager to buy locally produced food and goods but unable to shop during narrow market windows.
Under her leadership, the Ash Grove Farmers Market became a community destination. Attendance surged. But the structural challenges remained, echoing concerns she heard from farmers across the region. Those conversations eventually led her to the board of the Missouri Farmers Market Association, where she discovered that these barriers were statewide.
Roots and Harvest was born in response.
Opening at the end of 2024, Jasmine launched Missouri’s first farm stop - the eighteenth in the country. Unlike traditional farmers markets, the farm stop offers a year-round venue where local producers can sell without sacrificing entire days, and customers can shop during consistent hours throughout the week. The shop began to spark moments of discovery. “People are genuinely surprised to learn that all of these foods and products are produced right here in and around our community,” Jasmine says. “Awareness is a powerful tool.”
Her vision does not stop at commerce. Roots and Harvest has expanded into food access initiatives, including a free fridge program that makes local produce and dairy products available to community members regardless of income.
Recognizing that many small and remote farmers markets struggle with limited vendor participation, she began transporting locally grown produce to deeply rural markets, expanding both variety and access for shoppers who might otherwise be limited in their options. By bringing in produce from trusted regional growers, she helps these markets offer a fuller selection, keeps food dollars circulating locally, and allows outlying communities to experience the quality and freshness of locally grown food without traveling long distances.
Jasmine has also embraced the growing food as medicine movement, aligning with Missouri legislation promoting nutrition-based health interventions. Through partnerships with Citizens Memorial Hospital and Ozarks Community Hospital, Roots and Harvest supports CSA programs for employee wellness and is helping develop produce prescription initiatives across fourteen counties of southwest Missouri.
Her work has not gone unnoticed by regional leaders. In 2024, Jasmine received the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Farm to Table Award, recognizing her leadership in promoting local food systems statewide.
Jasmine believes every purchase of a locally grown good is a vote for local economies. And in Ash Grove, that concept is taking root.
People are genuinely surprised to learn that all of these foods and products are produced right here in and around our community.
By bringing in produce from trusted regional growers, she helps these markets offer a fuller selection, keeps food dollars circulating locally, and allows outlying communities to experience the quality and freshness of locally grown food