What’s new in food: Fair celebrates Burton Street history and the fall harvest

On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Burton Street Community Association will honor the legacy of E.W. Pearson with free food, activities, music and more at the Buncombe County District Agricultural Fair. Also in this week’s food news: A new late-night hot dog eatery, Asheville Charcuterie Co.’s first brick-and-mortar space and more.

What’s new in food: Tahini Jar rolls in with vegan Middle Eastern cuisine

Ron Jimenez had a literal eye-opening epiphany. “I woke up one morning a couple years ago with an out-of-the-blue conviction to become a vegetarian,” he recalls. “From that day forward, I stopped eating meat and cut back on all animal products.” Raised in Asheville, Jimenez later relocated to Florida to pursue his culinary education before returning to […]

What’s new in food: Food Connection introduces Fran the mobile meals truck

Flori Pate, Food Connection’s founder and current leader of community engagement, wants the communities it serves to be on a first-name basis with the nonprofit’s newest venture, a mobile meals truck. “An anonymous donor gave us $55,000 to help commission the truck, and his only request was we name it Fran,” Pate explains with a […]

What’s new in food: MANNA FoodBank hosts latest Outpace Hunger campaign

“MANNA is serving an average of 100,000 people per month through our network of 200-plus partner agencies,” says Kelly Schwartz, MANNA FoodBank’s special events manager. “With the rising cost of groceries, the need is still critical, especially for working families, seniors and veterans on a fixed budget.” With that in mind, MANNA is preparing for its […]

Making the grade: WNC’s college dining programs get high scores for sustainabi­lity

Increasingly, U.S. colleges and universities are working to make their institutions as environmentally sustainable as possible. These efforts cover a broad spectrum, from a recycling initiative at Stanford University that diverts 65 percent of the school’s solid waste away from landfills to Cornell’s plan to be carbon-neutral by 2035, as noted in The Princeton Review’s annual ranking […]

Small bites: Karen Washington uses food to connect the dots

The 2014 James Beard Leadership Award-winner Karen Washington will lead a workshop in anticipation of the Organic Growers School spring conference. Also, Food Connection hosts Chefs in Action; Curragh Chase pop-up dinner at Summit Coffee; White Labs Kitchen & Tap debuts fermentation series; Hickory Nut Gap Farm hosts whole hog butchery class; and James Beard Award semifinalists are announced.