Veronica's Wildcrafter Farm

I am 33 years old and began Wildcrafting with my husband in the past two years. I started the mushroom business last year to introduce local gourmet wild mushrooms to my community and the restaurants in this area. The Chanterelles, Black Trumpets, Chicken of the Woods, and Maitake are just a few of the delicious delicacies we harvest around Lake Ouachita and in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains. I would like to now tell you that Mushrooms, literally, saved my life. I spent almost every day last summer in the woods following the Chanterelle trails in the mornings and carrying them to the restaurants in the afternoons. During this time I began losing weight but thought it was due to my more active life. In the fall came Oyster, Hen of the Woods, and Lions Mane mushrooms and I was just as active, but noticed I was losing quite a bit of hair and my trips to the lavatory were about every hour. This January, 2015, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. During the previous summer, my blood sugar was 600 or more almost every day. The doctor said that if I had not been so active hunting the mushrooms, I would have been in a coma with over 1200 blood sugar count. They are truly a life nourishing gift with delicious taste and variety as well as life saving gifts with healing medicinal properties. I want to help educate as many people in my area as possible about the benefits of their local wild foods.