ASAP’s farmers market activity series for children announces summer programming

ASHEVILLE, NC (June 5, 2014)—With the school year coming to a close, ASAP’s Growing Minds Farm to School Program is looking ahead to summer programming, specifically their Growing Minds @ Market farmers market activity series. The summer series will once again take place Saturdays, June-August, at Asheville City Market Downtown. This summer, the series continues at North Asheville Tailgate Market and West Asheville Tailgate Market.

Growing Minds @ Market is a space at a farmers market set aside for children and families so that children can engage in fun projects focused on local food and farms. In other words, it’s ASAP’s Growing Minds program at tailgates instead of schools. Activities include fresh local food tastings, local food and farm-based art crafts, and physical activities and games. ASAP has offered the series at Asheville City Market with the help of other community organizations since 2009. “We’ve seen first-hand how the programming not only brings families to a market and helps children connect with the source of their food, but also helps a market successfully engage with the community and a wide variety of community partners,” says ASAP’s Growing Minds Director Emily Jackson.

The activity slated for Growing Minds @ Market on June 7 at Asheville City Market features veggie and fruit printing with the Asheville Art Museum. Other partners scheduled for this summer include MANNA FoodBank, Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services, the Girl Scouts, and more. For a complete schedule of Growing Minds @ Market activities at Asheville City Market, and to learn more about the programming, visit growing-minds.org. Organizations interested in providing a Growing Minds @ Market activity at Asheville City Market should email jessica@asapconnections.org. To learn more about activities scheduled at the West and/or North Asheville markets, contact the markets directly.

ASAP’s mission is to help local farms thrive, link farmers to markets and supporters, and build healthy communities through connections to local food. Growing Minds, ASAP’s Farm to School program, connects farms and schools to give children positive experiences with fresh, healthy local foods. Experiences include farm field trips, nutrition education, school gardens, and local food in cafeterias.

To learn more about Growing Minds, visit growing-minds.org. For information about ASAP’s work in the Southern Appalachians, visit asapconnections.org, or call 828-236-1282.