“This should be a great year for berries,” says Walter Harrill of Imladris Farm in Fairview. “A very solid berry year indeed.” That's good news for local food lovers and supporters, who have been worried about the possible impacts to berry production from the late frost, which had devastating effects on WNC's apple crop. “There […]
This is in response to Neela McDades' June 6 letter, "ART Connects People With Resources," which congratulates the new bus system for connecting the poor to food pantries. This is a good thing because, since ART started on May 21, more people have lost or been forced to quit their jobs due to lousy service. […]
“We either love what we are doing or we are nuts,” says Zeb Jolley, who owns and operates Jolley Farms, an Appalachian Grown-Certified farm in Canton, with his wife, June. June farms on nights and weekends after her full-time job as greenhouse manager at the North Carolina Arboretum, a position she’s held for the past […]
Duane Fernandes has returned to Horizons at the Grove Park Inn after departing to helm the food program of a South Carolina resort just four months ago. Why the quick return? It's as much about the new food-and-beverage program at the GPI than anything else, he says. (The Grove Park Inn, as you may already […]
From the press release from the WNCAP Asheville, NC — When Greenlife Grocery selected Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) as recipient of its next 5% Community Giving Day award, the nonprofit was also handed a chance to promote one of its most important awareness days – National HIV Testing Day- which takes place each […]
From the Asheville Bed and Breakfast Association: “Asheville is known for its historic buildings and homes set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains as well as for its amazing food scene. The Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association Spring INN tour combines both of these in a two day event designed to delight your eyes and […]
Greg Carter’s farm isn’t typical. “If you saw my production area, you’d just see stacks of what looks like firewood around my yard,” he says. That’s because his main crop is mushrooms, which he cultivates on hardwood logs — more than 3,000 of them. Oh, and there’s a cave for underground growing, of course. Vistors […]
From the press release from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina: (May 21 – Asheville, NC) – Gloria Steinem addressed a sold-out crowd of 1,100 at the 8th annual Power of the Purse luncheon today. The event took place at The Crowne Plaza resort in Asheville and included the announcement of $252,000 in grants […]
The Salmonella Paratyphi B outbreak caused by tainted starter culture in Smiling Hara tempeh is still climbing, say officials. 83 people had been sickened by salmonella as of Friday afternoon, of which 62 are Buncombe County residents. “The total count includes cases of people who visited or otherwise had connections to Buncombe County and were […]
As Asheville’s rates of hunger increase, local agencies are trying to keep pace. Standing in MANNA FoodBank’s warehouse holding a small bag of groceries, Beth Stahl, the nonprofit’s youth program coordinator, reflects on the value of food to the many Buncombe County children facing crippling hunger. “It’s kind of scary that this little bag of […]
Last fall, DeWayne B Love Barton, Imhotep Dlanod and Steve Mann — three men from Asheville — traveled together to the sovereign nation of the Hopi Tribe in northeastern Arizona. Dlanod is a Mardi Gras Indian and a native of New Orleans. He plays percussion with Sirius.B, Rising Appalachia and teaches youth through LEAF in […]
Black-seeded Simpson, Cherokee, Deer Tongue — the selection of locally grown lettuces available now, during ASAP’s Get Local lettuce month, goes far beyond iceberg. But, they’re not anything new. “There are a lot of really old varieties out there that consistently work well,” says Tuck Hunt who co-owns the year-old Swannanoa-based hydroponic operation, Heirloom Uprising, […]
Today, the Buncombe County Department of Health confirmed that the salmonella discovered in Smiling Hara tempeh matches the Paratyphi B strain that has sickened 46 people. Although all Smiling Hara products have been removed from restaurants and stores, the case number rises every day, mostly from person-to-person contact. UPDATE: The salmonella has been identified as originating from the starter culture used in the tempeh-making process.
Although Smiling Hara Tempeh products have tested positive for salmonella and have been voluntarily recalled by the company, the Buncombe County Health Department cautions that we aren’t out of the woods yet. Health Department and Smiling Hara Tempeh officials confirm that tempeh made some time between Jan 11 and April 11 is contaminated with salmonella. […]
Fresh from City Hall, here’s some food-policy news you really ought to know.
“Vineyard work is farming, plain and simple, and weather is always a consideration in agriculture,” says Jeff Frisbee. Frisbee and his family own Addison Farms Vineyard, an Appalachian Grown farm in Leicester. And since Western North Carolina (and much of the rest of the nation) experienced a mild winter this year, all of Addison’s varieties […]
Mallory McDuff, professor of environmental education at Warren Wilson College, is a proud Episcopalian and environmental activist. In her newest book, Sacred Acts: How Churches are Working to Protect Earth’s Climate, McDuff solicited essays by Christian environmentalists across the country to explore what faith-based communities are doing to address climate change.
Asheville loves Earth Day, and this year is no exception.
Here’s the announcement from Commissioner Holly Jones, sent via her email newsletter: In anticipation of the primary, I am dedicating this enews to an exceptional candidate running in District Two, Ellen Frost. Ellen Frost is a civic-minded, small business owner from Black Mountain, dedicated to her family and her community. If you live in District […]
For the first time, ramps, the region’s most beloved early-spring green, are April’s featured food in ASAP’s Get Local initiative. Ramps and other local forest products are now becoming more and more available, but it hasn’t always been that way. “Not long ago, you had to go to the more rural communities to find ramps,” […]
The wild foods of the season — including ramps — are showing up in restaurants all over town. (Photo by Max Cooper)
