From Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project:
ASHEVILLE, NC (April 7, 2014)—The growing season is in full bloom in WNC and the Southern Appalachians. Tailgate farmers markets are opening, restaurants are featuring local food, and roadside stands are beginning to come to life again. To help local food lovers find and support these certified local farms and businesses—this spring and beyond—ASAP is releasing their 2014 Local Food Guide. The guide is a core component of ASAP’s 14-year old Local Food Campaign; more than one million copies of the Local Food Guide have been distributed since 2002.
“It wasn’t that long ago that our region was home to only a handful of farmers markets or CSA farms and less than a handful of restaurants and grocers that bought and sold products from local farms,” shares Charlie Jackson, ASAP’s Executive Director. “Today, things have changed dramatically–witness the 2014 Local Food Guide! There are hundreds of markets, grocers, restaurants, and other outlets for food and farm products with an astounding variety of local products.”
This year’s Local Food Guide includes more Appalachian Grown tailgate farmers market and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) listings than ever before. The guide also includes newly opened area restaurants committed to sourcing local food, along with listings of grocers, artisan food producers, B&Bs and farm lodging, wineries, and more. This year’s guide features “Local food by the numbers,” national and regional local food statistics, illustrating how the local food movement has changed over ASAP’s past decade of work.
The 2014 Local Food Guide can be picked up hot off the press at ASAP’s booth at the Mother Earth News Fair, April 12-13, at the WNC Ag Center. ASAP is a supporting partner of the fair and we will be joined there by many Appalachian Grown™ farms and retailers. The latest guide listings can also be found online at appalachiangrown.org. Print copies will be distributed after the fair to 400+ locations, listed on the guide page of asapconnections.org.
[High-resolution images of the 2014 guide cover and local food and farms are available. Contact Development Director Scott Bunn at scott@asapconnections.org.]
ABOUT ASAP (APPALACHIAN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PROJECT)
ASAP’s mission is to help local farms thrive, link farmers to markets and supporters, and build healthy communities through connections to local food. To learn more about ASAP’s work in the region, visit asapconnections.org, or call (828) 236-1282.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.