Finch Gourmet Market & Wine Bar opens in Biltmore Village. Plus: Pop Bubble Tea prepares for grand opening in North Asheville; Howdy Homemade Ice Cream launches in Arden; and plenty more!
Tag: Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
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Local nonprofits discuss hiring for leaders
Over the past several years, due in part to community changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, many local nonprofits have been thrust into hiring leadership positions. Most have not had the liberty of hiring qualified candidates from within and have had to conduct broader searches.
Green in brief: Chestnut Mountain Nature Park opens to public
About 35 acres of the nearly 450-acre tract — purchased by the nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in 2020 and recently transferred to the town of Canton — are now open, including the Berm Park mountain bike skills course and a mixed-use hiking/biking trail.
What’s new in food: Honey cake for Ukraine
OWL Bakery’s Lola Borovyk spearheaded the Honey Cake for Ukraine fundraiser, raising over $12,000 for relief efforts. Also: Dine To Be Kind returns; free seeds; and more!
Q&A: Charlie Jackson, founder of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
At many grocery stores in the area, consumers can find at least some local produce, meat or dairy products. Plenty of restaurants tout local ingredients on their menus and farmers markets are ubiquitous here. But it wasn’t always that way. “It’s hard to remember what it was like 20 years ago, but there was not […]
What’s new in food: Local book releases, markets and garden dining take wing in spring
New WNC cookbooks hit the shelves and ASAP’s Local Food Guide hits the stands, Hendersonville Farmers Market at the Historic Train Depot kicks off its second season, Meadow Market Sundays resume at Highland Brewing Co. and more Asheville food news.
Green in brief: WNC gets $100K toward charging stations, RiverLink seeks storm drain adoptions
The charging station program, funded by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality from part of the state’s allocation in the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal, partially defrays the cost of installing Level 2 infrastructure, which can recharge electric vehicles up to seven times as quickly as a standard 120-volt outlet.
SNAP incentives boost market sales for local farmers
Market managers and vendors at the markets participating in the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s Double SNAP initiative, which matches Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits dollar-for-dollar on edible items, saw SNAP transactions nearly triple from 2019 to 2020, and 80% of responding vendors said they’d experienced sales growth due to the program.
ASAP expands Double SNAP program at weekly tailgate markets
The program, explains communications coordinator Sarah Hart, allows the market to make a 100 percent match on dollars spent through SNAP. “People swipe their SNAP card for $5 and get $10 in tokens to shop the market,” she says.
Farms innovate fresh models for COVID-19 agritourism
A late June report from the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association found that 77% of growers reliant on agritourism had seen reduced income since the start of COVID-19. But as the pandemic continues, Western North Carolina’s farms are finding safe, creative ways to share the agricultural experience with visitors.
From CPP: Program supports WNC farmers and offers food relief during pandemic
With farmers losing access to customers and many people facing food insecurity during pandemic, the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project offers a solution.
WNC farms grow new markets through community
The region’s small farms have been rocked by the coronavirus, but community support and innovative thinking have enabled many local growers to pivot and persist as they work to find a way forward.
Slow Food Asheville celebrates okra with Heritage Food Project
The okra selected for the 2020 project, Aunt Hettie’s Red, boasts both regional roots and modern acclaim. Last September, the variety was crowned the best of 54 in “The Single Biggest Chef-Centered Okra Tasting Day Ever” contest staged by the Utopian Seed Project.
Green in brief: Buncombe backs Craggy scenic designation, Duke releases net-zero carbon report
At an April 21 meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners lent their unanimous support to designating 16,000 acres of the Pisgah National Forest in the county’s northeast as the Craggy Mountain Wilderness and National Scenic Area. And on April 28, Duke Energy unveiled the most detailed public explanation to date of how company leaders are thinking about the longer-term future.
Letter: Let Earth Fare’s closing be a boon for local food
“When we purchase more like 10% of what we collectively eat [in the place] where we live, we will be on our way to building a more sustainable, regenerative and resilient system, which will be a viable alternative to global and industrial practices.”
New in nonprofits: Notable happenings in local organizations
For our nonprofit special issue, Mountain Xpress took a look at a spectrum of local nonprofits that have recently experienced significant changes or are in the midst of transformative shifts in management or focus. We also checked in on some of the largest grant funding awards our region has seen this year.
Farmers can fix WNC’s health and hunger crisis
“Sourcing more of our food locally would simultaneously boost the region’s economic stability, food security and health.”
WNC tailgate market managers talk about planning and vendor selection
While each tailgate market serves its own area and demographic, they all adhere to roughly the same model, policies and procedures, the logistics of which begin well before opening day and continue through the season.
WNC farmers look to new business models after last year’s flooding
In April, Cane Creek Valley Farm in Fletcher will open two of its organic fields to the community through a new garden-share program that’s aimed at bolstering the small, family-owned operation against the damaging effects of weather events.
Seasonal greetings: Holiday shopping can be a gift to WNC farmers
Many area growers rely on holiday sales of their food products and handicrafts to help carry their businesses through the winter season.
Are females the future of WNC farming?
Despite the unique set of challenges it presents, WNC women are increasingly looking to agriculture as a business option.