Meet Debbie Fred-
A resident of Central Oregon since 2001, Debbie’s passion in life is to raise her 3 children, ages 6, 8 and 10, with her husband on their farm in Tumalo. “We bought the land 7 years ago and have built a successful beef, grass hay & now hemp business together. It’s the perfect place to raise a family!”
Debbie is focused on her kids’ quality of life. “My goal in raising our children here is to provide them with an exceptional education with small class sizes. Tumalo Community School offers just that. I want to raise them out in the country like how my husband and I grew up. I want them to learn responsibility with farm chores, etc. I define success as a parent by my children's success in school, their manners, respectfulness, willingness to work and how they interact with others.”
In addition to her emphasis on being a mom, Debbie has also become an entrepreneur in the Bend area, creating a line of nutrition bars she has dubbed Paleo Eats after her son became sick. “The proudest I've been is figuring out my children's food intolerances before it was too late. With my middle son, it took 2 years of doctor appointments and lots of research to finally figure out what was wrong on my own.”
This research led to the creation of Paleo Eats, shelf-stable gluten-free bars she sells to markets throughout the West, as well as by subscription. “I am very passionate about providing a nutritious yet tasty gluten/dairy free product to those with food intolerances or to anybody who wants to eat clean. I want to educate the public about how our ancestors once ate and how the food we eat nowadays is so processed and altered.”
Debbie is proud of starting her own business here in Bend. “Bend is the most amazing place to live as an entrepreneur. Since my background was in the medical field for 15 years, I’ve needed a lot of business advice and Bend has been full of wonderful other business owners who are more than willing to help a small business owner out.”
Debbie loves a lot more about the Bend area than just the supportive climate for small businesses. “I’m motivated by helping others. Whether it’s through my business, Paleo Eats, or my volunteer position as the Sparrow Club Advisor at Tumalo Community School, I LOVE the sense of community here. For example, I put on a fundraiser for our Tumalo Sparrow Club two years ago. I was so beyond grateful of the turnout and all the money that we raised for this little boy, Tristan, who was suffering from cancer. The Tumalo Community really came together to help Tristan as well as all the students in the school.”
Debbie’s family spends a lot of time in the outdoors. “Our family loves to go camping! We enjoy going up to Three Creeks Lake, Cultis Lake, rafting the Deschutes River, floating the river here in Tumalo…the places are endless! We have a toy hauler that we take to all the lakes in Central Oregon. And we just did a rafting trip on the lower Deschutes and that we tent camped. Both are so fun but with three kids, the toy hauler is my favorite way to camp! We love to hike, SUP, kayak and just let the kids explore with no technology.”
Ultimately, Debbie hopes that Bend grows even more foodie. “I’m on the advisory board for the Central Oregon Food & Beverage Cluster. I would love to see this group grow into something even bigger. We have so many food companies in Central Oregon. This could really take off and Bend could become the food mecca of the U.S!”
To learn more about Paleo Eats, visit their websitehttps://paleoeats.com/.
Thanks to Debbie for sharing her story about how great parenting can lead to great products. If you want to be profiled in Go Local Bend, or want us to profile someone else, please email submissions@golocalbend.com.
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Photo credit: jasonbagby.com
Story credit: Kathy Schroeder
