Friends,
Every year at ASAP, countless messages flood in about your impact. As our most dedicated supporters, you make investments in the local food economy, keep farmers farming, and help advocate for all to have access to fresh, healthy, local food. Right now your support is helping farms recover from the hailstorm in the Barnardsville area.
Weather events are just some of the pressing challenges that you help counter with continued support. In our recent Appalachian Grown producer survey these challenges stood out:
- 72% of farmers in our network cited issues with accessing land due to availability and cost.
- Others wrestled with the tricky balance of “selling at a high enough rate to make a profit while still being accessible to people.”
- Some told us they had trouble “getting the public to know we are here and what we offer."
This is where we know you will step in. Despite the persistent struggles, farmers also express their joy, determination, what’s working, and hopes for the future. In the same survey we heard:
“We were happy to be invited and participate in local farmers markets which have been great spaces to connect with other local farmers, producers and clients. We feel more known and valued by the whole community.”
“Honestly, ASAP has been a fundamental part of the growth of our market garden. From packaging, to the support we received when we attended Asheville City Market before our move to Haywood county, to helping forge connections within the community, ASAP has drastically improved our experience of farming in WNC.”
“The Farm Fresh Produce Prescription program has made a significant impact in the accessibility of getting fresh local food to people at farmers markets. Between that program, SNAP/EBT and the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program, we made new connections, saw new faces at market, and people receiving nutritional assistance would make up 20-25% of our market sales.”
“Knowing that the work we do goes beyond just providing a paycheck for us and our employees. It nourishes our community and brings back a balance to our ecosystem that has been lost due to hundreds of years of hard farming.”
This spring, as we celebrate longer days, the re-opening of farmers markets after a winter hiatus, and the availability of more produce on our tables, we ask that you also renew your commitment to this work.
You are the driving force behind our ability to support farmers. Together, we will achieve a resilient local food system! Thank YOU!
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