From the rancher with the cowboy hat and lasso to the grower on the tractor gazing out over the cornfield, our idea of a farmer is most often of a male — specifically an older, white male. In many ways, statistically speaking, that image isn’t wrong — but it may be changing. Diversity in agriculture is growing in WNC. Who are these new farmers? What challenges are they facing? And what new perspectives will they bring to agriculture in WNC?
The organization has been running a pop-up food pantry and food security effort out of three locations in Black Mountain since 2012 but has been looking for a way to expand its reach since last spring.
From ASAP: Even though the new season won’t officially arrive for a couple weeks, spring greens are here! Thanks to season extension, farmers are able to supply greens like lettuce and kale throughout the winter.
From the Get It! Guide: “I kept hearing about how diverse this community is, but I didn’t see it,” recalls Building Bridges co-chair Audrey Yatras of her 2006 move to Asheville. “We want to pat ourselves on the back, but we’re actually not diverse at all. “
From the Get It! Guide: The Haywood County Gleaners currently work with 17 farms and farmers markets to gather leftover crops and donate them at 27 different sites, including senior centers and food pantries.
Asheville ethnobiologist, herbalist and educator Marc Williams recently joined Xpress in the test kitchen at Selina Naturally in Arden to discuss herbal teas and ways certain herbs can help us nurture love in our lives.
Press release Buncombe County Schools officials will be asking parents and staff to take a short survey to gauge preference regarding future make-up days for the remainder of the 2014-15 school year.
Press release: CARING for Children is pleased to announce a $10,000 grant award from the Pisgah Investments Foundation to fund the Angels Watch program in 2015.
Press release: The WNC Home, Garden & Green Living Show will be held in Asheville, NC on March 20-22, 2015.
Press release: The largest commercial vegetable growers’ event in the region will include a high quality educational program put together by extension specialists and agents at NC State University.
Some are braving the cold and ice, but others are playing it safe and staying home. Here’s what we know about closures and delays in #avl this morning.
Press release: Restaurant workers are often victims of wage theft, the illegal underpayment or non-payment of workers’ wages. Asheville Sustainable Restaurant Workforce, or ASRW seeks to be the voice of Asheville’s restaurant workers.
Local filmmakers from Transmedia Productions partnered with a local writer and American Express to produce a “transmedia” project spotlighting local business Buchi Kombucha.
WNC Agriculture Options, a program from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension funded by the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, awarded 31 farm businesses with grants totaling $168,000. Recipients include Balsam Gardens in Sylva, which will expand its operation to 33 acres on Sand Hill Road in Asheville.
Announcement: Tryon Seventh-day Adventist Church looks to address growing concern regarding genetically modified organism through a public seminar on Tuesday, Feb. 24
Organic Growers School announces spring conference course offerings.
Report: Homeward Bound of WNC will no longer offer its Women at Risk program following a decline in both funding and referrals.
A new report from the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association finds that North Carolina’s clean energy industry has grown 25 percent per year since 2012. The report found that the clean energy workforce is scattered throughout the state, but highlighted Asheville as one “cluster” for these jobs.
For many of us, when we think of preserved foods, we picture our grandparents carefully canning tomatoes from their garden, or the menu at a trendy restaurant featuring sauerkraut or pickled quail eggs. But imagine what food preservation means to someone experiencing food insecurity or to a donation grower faced with excess produce rotting in the field, and the image becomes something quite different.
Announcement: Order forms are now available for the Haywood County Master Gardner Association’s 2015 Plant Sale.
Hall Fletcher Elementary will hold the second year of its “Star Chef Junior Chef Cooking Competition” throughout February. The program is part of the school’s year-round science program that includes organic gardening skills, environmental science, nutrition and stewardship.
