monthly news from ASAP    |   SEPTEMBER 2023    |    asapconnections.org

ASAP's Farm Tour Is This Weekend, Sept. 23-24
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ASAP's Farm Tour : [link removed] is coming up this Saturday and Sunday, from 12 to 5 p.m. both days! There's a lot of information about the tour to digest. Purchase a pass on our website : [link removed] (passes are $35 until Friday at 11:59 p.m., then go up to $45). You can also find details about farms : [link removed], a map : [link removed], and driving directions : [link removed]. Need some more help in planning your tour? We have a few suggestions.
  
Tailor Your Tour It can be overwhelming to pick which farms to visit! We curated a few themes to help you decide which farms best match your interests, whether you are looking for the best spots to entertain kids, to get tips for your own farm or garden, to zen out while picking flowers, or sample some restaurant-ready bites. The following themes—while not exhaustive—can help you narrow down which farms you’re most interested in visiting. We suggest using the themes in conjunction with geographic clusters : [link removed] in your planning!
The Tasty Tour : [link removed], sponsored by  : [link removed] Asheville : [link removed] Kids Tour : [link removed], sponsored by  : [link removed] Fiddle Vittles : [link removed] Farm Fresh for Health Tour : [link removed], sponsored by The Montford : [link removed] and Soprana Rooftop Cucina : [link removed] “Show Me How It’s Done” Tour : [link removed], sponsored by Henderson County Tourism Development : [link removed] Tips for the Tour
Don't bring your dog! Dogs—or any pets—case pose a danger to livestock.Print directions or save your route offline. Cell service and GPS can be spotty on rural roads.Pack your gear. That includes rain and sun protection, closed-toed shoes, water bottle, cash, and cooler for any farm purchases.Print or screenshot your emailed receipt. That's your pass! When you arrive at your first farm, check in with a volunteer at the Farm Tour table to get an admittance sticker.Check Out Our Sponsors These businesses, publications, and organizations are supporting local food, farms, and our community. Find out more about some of their products or work in the links below, or find the full list of Farm Tour sponsors on our website. : [link removed]  : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] 

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: [link removed] month we celebrate National Farm to School Month, which means celebrating all the local food and farm connections in the classroom. One way to join in is the North Carolina Crunch : [link removed]. You don't have to be a student or educator to participate! Just crunch into a local fruit or veggie (an apple or anything else that makes a crunch!) on Wednesday, October 18, or another day during the month of October. Find resources for how schools, farmers, businesses, or other groups can get involved on the Growing Minds website : [link removed]. 
Post pictures of your Crunch activity on social media with the hashtags #NCCrunch and #F2SMonth! (Pictured here is ASAP board member Nilofer Couture crunching into an apple for the 201 Crunch.) Register : [link removed] your event to get additional resources. No event is too small to register and you can skip the questions for schools if your event will not be held in a school.  
NC Crunch is co-sponsored by NC Farm to Preschool Network : [link removed] and Farm to School Coalition of NC : [link removed] Farmer: Mighty Gnome Market Garden
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Farmers Danielle Keeter and Mark McDonagh are co-owners of Mighty Gnome Market Garden : [link removed] in Waynesville, NC. They believe that a small farm can have a profound impact on their local food economy. They grow fresh, seasonal produce as sustainably as possible, all while following organic methods. "Everything is done by hand," says Danielle. "We’re not riding on the back of a tractor. It's just the two of us doing all of this. My favorite part about running the Market Garden is a toss-up between eating really great food and the community that has surrounded us here."
 You can find more Meet Your Farmer videos, as well as related lesson plans and classroom resources on the Growing Minds website : [link removed].



Professional Services Cost Share for Farmers

ASAP is offering a cost share : [link removed] for farmers in Western North Carolina to hire professional services pertinent to improving farm business capacity and profitability. Professional services could include, but are not limited to: tax assistance, record keeping, business planning, HR, legal advice, or graphic design. The award operates on a reimbursement basis, for up to 75% of total professional service costs, up to $1,500 for an individual farm. Projects must be started after cost share is awarded to the farm business.
  

Find out more about eligibility and apply online : [link removed]. : [link removed] Applications will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. Priority may be given to limited resource and BIPOC farmers. Contact program coordinator Sigrid JensenOyaski at [email protected] : mailto:[email protected] or 828-236-1282 with any questions.



Join Our Team
ASAP is hiring a Community Research Coordinator. This full-time position will engage with all of ASAP’s audiences and conduct research on local food and farms in order to understand changes in the local food system and assess the impact of ASAP’s work. The ultimate goal of this research is to support farmers and mobilize community engagement with local food and farms. The application deadline is Sept. 30. Read the full job description and apply online. : [link removed] LOCAL
Malcolm Banks, Delia Jovel, and Eric Morris

 

In early September, the Asheville Art Museum : [link removed] organized a panel discussion on “Appalachian Foodways” as part of its programming around “The Art of Food” exhibit. ASAP’s communication manager, Sarah Hart, moderated the discussion between farmers Malcolm Banks (of Yellow Mountain Garden : [link removed] in Franklin, NC) and Delia Jovel (of Tierra Fértil Coop : [link removed] in Hendersonville, NC), and chef Eric Morris (of Wicked Weed’s Cultura : [link removed] in Asheville, NC). For our Faces of Local this month, we're sharing an excerpt from the conversation. Visit our website to read more! : [link removed]
 


What does Appalachian foodways mean to you?
 


Malcolm Banks: It means a lot! For me, it's a group of small farms. It's coming together as a group of farms and trying to help each other out—figuring out our food waste problems, figuring out how we can help the community we are in, figuring out how to help a small farmer that can't get funds. In Appalachia, as small farmers, we don't really have that much help. The big farm is going to get the grant before the small farm. Having groups to work with keeps small farms thriving. And we can give our community fresh food, keeping everything local. That's what it means to me. 
 


Delia Jovel: When you are immigrant—I think I am still in the process to understand what that concept means. I will say that I feel very privileged to be in this region. There is a network of small farmers, people who really have an understanding about what it means to produce food, but also what it means to share food. Because it's not just about producing, it's about how that food can go to the right people—the people that are part of that environment. I’m not an experienced farmer. I have learned by observing. Without the support we have in this region, a small farm such as ours would have maybe never become a reality. I think the economic, the natural, the social, the community environment in this area is a privilege. We have to feel really happy to be part of this. Because honestly, many countries, many cities don't have the same relationship with food that we have.
 


Eric Morris: This is the best place in the world to be a chef. For me, Appalachian foodways is a confluence of different ideas and cultures coming together to support each other. A lot of it was born of necessity. We've learned from each other by, like you said, observing. But what is created is something totally unique. I work with, I don't know, 20 different farmers, which is super special to me. But in addition to that there’s the tradition of foraging in Appalachia, something to get you between winter and spring. And that plays a big part of our food identity here. Knowing what to eat, knowing each mushroom by its proper name—and then sharing that information, sharing techniques of preservation. How we take our food and make the most of it is an integral part of Appalachian foodways. Appalachian food is a fluid, ever-evolving kind of thing. It's steeped in tradition. But each next generation builds on that. I never get bored. I'm always being introduced to new ingredients, new techniques.
 

Read more on ASAP's website. : [link removed] THE MONTH

Delicata Squash & Apple Salad : [link removed] markets and farm stands are shifting into fall. Delicata is one of the earliest varieties of winter squash. You can eat the tender skin without peeling!
 
Ingredients
1 delicata squash3 tablespoons olive oil, divided1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to tastePinch of freshly ground black pepper1 bunch lacinato kale2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup1 apple1/2 cup hazelnuts or almonds, toasted and chopped1 teaspoon Dijon mustardShaved or crumbled cheese (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice the delicata squash in half, lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and strings. Slice into half moons, about 1/2-inch thick. Spread squash out on a sheet tray and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until starting to brown, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Wash and dry kale. Remove leaves from the stems (smaller tender stems are fine).Thinly slice the kale crosswise into ribbons.In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons water, sherry vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust seasoning. 
Chop the apple into half-inch pieces. Place the sliced kale in a large bowl. Pour over the dressing and use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale until the kale is slightly softened. Add roasted squash, sliced apples, and tasted nuts to the kale and toss together. Top with fresh crumbled cheese, such as goat cheese or feta, or shaved cheese, such as Parmesan. Serve at room temperature.Find more recipes for all on our website : [link removed]
"Bringing the community onto working farms is essential in strengthening relationships within our local food system, and ASAP does an excellent job making this accessible to the farmer through the Farm Tour. The Farm Tour is completely aligned with our values as a community-centered farm and we are so looking forward to hosting folks."
—Lyric Antio, owner of Wild East Farm, in The Laurel of Asheville : [link removed] 
 

"Between 2012 and 2017—the years for which the most recent data is available—16 of the 23 counties in Western North Carolina lost farms, according to the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, or ASAP, an Asheville-based group aimed at supporting farmers. 'It’ll be really interesting to see the 2022 data, [which will show] both the effects of development pressure and the impacts of Covid.'"
—Amy Marion, ASAP's associate director, in Edible Asheville : [link removed] 
 

"ASAP, and many of its market members, participate in its Double SNAP program. Those who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (a federal program offering food benefits to low-income families and individuals) have the opportunity to swipe their EBT card and receive tokens that can be spent at the market, as well as an additional $20 in Farm Fresh Bucks to spend on fruits and veggies.
—WNC Magazine : [link removed] in a roundup of fall and winter farmers markets

CONNECT WITH ASAP
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asapconnections.org : [link removed] | growing-minds.org : [link removed] | appalachiangrown.org : [link removed]
  
ASAP's mission is to help local farms thrive, link farmers to markets and supporters, and build healthy communities through connections to local food.
 

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ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) - 306 W. Haywood Street - Asheville - NC - 28801

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