monthly news from ASAP    |   May 2025    |    asapconnections.org

Passes On Sale for ASAP's Farm Tour, Sept. 20-21
: [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed]
ASAP’s Farm Tour will return Sept. 20-21, 2025 and passes are on sale now : [link removed]! Experience the sights, tastes, and stories of farm life through guided tours, demonstrations, and hands-on activities. The tour is family-friendly and a great adventure for visitors of all ages and interests. One pass, $35, is good for all passengers in your vehicle to visit any farms on both days, Saturday and Sunday, 12–5 p.m. This year’s participating farms will be announced later this summer. Farms featured on the tour vary each year, but are all located within an hour drive of Asheville and are arranged by cluster to help plan your weekend. The Farm Tour showcases the diversity of working farms in Western North Carolina with farms growing vegetables, fruit, flowers, raising animals, producing wine and cheese, and more!  Interested in sponsoring the Farm Tour? As a sponsor, you gain visibility for your business and connect with the region’s passion for local food. Contact Nora Scheff, [email protected] : mailto:[email protected] , to learn more about how to showcase your support of local food and farms.



Impact of Helene on Small Farms and Local Food Economies

: [link removed] Hurricane Helene, ASAP began monitoring the impacts of the storm on small-scale farms in Western North Carolina. Through surveys, phone calls, and farmer-to-farmer facilitated meetings, ASAP researchers have estimated the scope and immediate cost of the hurricane on the farming community and local food economy. The full report is available here. : [link removed] 
 

Key highlights include:
86 percent of farms reported physical damage, including nearly 70 percent who reported damage to their land or waterways.The scale of damage across farms varied significantly, but for most, the scope of this physical damage didn’t exceed 25 percent of their operation.Farms that experienced physical damage reported average cleanup and recovery costs of $40,000.Total lost sales per farm (due to both product loss and market outlet closures) include an average of $30,000 in 2024 and an anticipated $28,000 in 2025.Storm-related damages and losses constituted 88 percent of the average WNC farm’s gross annual sales.ASAP is conducting additional research to understand the long-term implications of the storm. A follow-up report, tentatively scheduled for late 2025, will assess farmers’ experience accessing financial support and technical assistance, identify lingering needs, and make recommendations for supporting small farms and local food economies in the Southern Appalachians.



Welcome, Heidi Blanck
: [link removed] Heidi Blanck, ASAP's newest staff member! In Heidi's role as Director of Programs & Impact, she will both lead ASAP’s Local Food Research Center and support responsive and impactful program development, implementation, and evaluation. 
Heidi is a seasoned research manager whose work explores the intersections of local food systems, healthcare, education, and community nutrition strategies to support healthier, strong communities. Heidi received her PhD in nutritional epidemiology, from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. She provided scientific and programmatic leadership for community nutrition strategies at the federal level for over 25 years as a public servant, supporting state and local public health initiatives including farm to school and produce incentive programs. Heidi loves hiking the local trails with her family and seeking local products at the many WNC farmers markets. We're thrilled to have Heidi join our team!



FACES OF LOCAL
Morgan Davis
: [link removed] Davies, along with her husband Mark and mother, Cynthia Goff, took over ownership of The Ten Acre Garden : [link removed] in December of 2023. The Ten Acre Garden is located in Canton, NC, and has a farm stand, u-pick produce and flowers, and on-farm activities too like classes, live music, and wood-fired pizza nights.

What has it been like to be the new owners of an established farm?
 

Living internationally, in Hong Kong and Germany, we came back to the states for a family reunion and visited The Ten Acre Garden. We were building a small library on homesteading and with the shortages of food through COVID, we wanted to grow food. We learned that The Ten Acre Garden was for sale and I called my mom in Ohio and she decided to go in on this farm with us. We had been all over the world traveling, but what we really wanted was a piece of land to be rooted to.
Being new owners has been great for business but now that we are doing some things differently, we have had to do some educating with the current customer base–I don’t think Danny [Barrett, the former owner] raised his prices in quite a while! We almost had to rebrand and our customer base has transformed quite a bit. I love the name, I love the views, I love the space and I really want to share this land with as many people as possible. I heard someone say, “Oh yeah, the farm that used to do the pizzas” and I tell them to come out and get pizza!

What kinds of u-pick do you offer and what can folks expect when visiting?
 

We are currently planting our u-pick veggies. We have strawberries now through June, and soon we will have raspberries and blackberries, too. We have cut flowers and perennial flowers available for u-pick. We have a variety of herbs like basil, mint, parsley, and so many more. We planted a big sunflower path that should be ready to harvest in August. Sometimes folks are expecting certain crops to be available, and we let them know that this is what our farm can realistically grow in this climate.
We are open Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. We are a busy farm so showing up later in the day doesn’t necessarily guarantee produce availability. We are mostly outdoors and have restrooms. Dogs are allowed on leash but not allowed in the u-pick fields. All of our events are family friendly. We manage our crops differently due to the u-pick aspect, so sometimes certain crops need breaks or are rotating. We really want people to come out and stock up on produce to make their pesto for the year or to try new things!
 

How important is agritourism for your farm business? How did Helene impact that?
 

Since we are a u-pick farm, we are heavily reliant on agritourism. We are only 10 acres, but we are a small farm with a big garden and a small staff of four. If we aren’t having people coming to pick, we are relying on people coming out to the farm. We are trying out the Mill Town Farmers Market : [link removed]. We try to look at seasonal offerings too, like planting pumpkins in the fall. We really want to embrace this agritourism community!
 

While we didn’t lose power or anything, we lost our entire strawberry patch. We put out an ask to the community to help cover the cost of that loss and they came through. With funds and workdays, we got it replanted and folks were so grateful to have a place they could still come and feel a little more normal. It was truly community supported. The storm helped us see what kind of foods people are buying and what is practical through times of crisis.

What are the hardest and best parts about farming?
 

Sometimes we have to turn people away because they come on Sunday and lots of the u-pick produce has been picked through. We grow what we can grow but aren’t a huge farm. Finding that balance is challenging and can be frustrating at times. We want to be able to do it really well.
 

As someone new to farming, we have learned a lot in our second year by what went well and what didn’t. I’m handling the cut flowers this year and it can be a little intimidating so I just take myself into the greenhouse and give myself a pep talk. The greenhouse…it’s an escape, it’s full of greenery and I can just simply watch life and watch things grow. We don’t have the institutional or generational knowledge which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it gives us a lot of space to learn and grow.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Strawberry Salsa : [link removed] don't have to wait for tomato season to start enjoying local salsa. Strawberries, cilantro, and spring onions are all available at markets and farm stands now, and make a great alternative for dipping tortilla chips.
 

Ingredients
1 quart local strawberriesjuice of 1 lime1/4 cup chopped green onions1/4 cup chopped cilantro1/2 teaspoon kosher saltDirections
Wash the strawberries, green onions, and cilantroRemove the tops and slice the strawberries. Place in a medium bowl.Chop the green onions and cilantro, toss with the strawberries.Cut the lime and squeeze the juice into the strawberry mixture.Add salt and stir. Serve with tortilla chips.
Find more recipes at growing-minds.org : [link removed] and asapconnections.org. : [link removed]
 

"Farmers are so resourceful and resilient. They are doing what they need to do to rebuild, what they need to do to get through this season and keep going. But farming is a business that operates so close to the bottom line that there isn’t a lot of room for anything else to go wrong. Farmers are wondering if the next hit—whether that is supply chain issues, price increases, another weather event—will be one they can’t bounce back from. There’s a sense of exhaustion."
—Sarah Hart, Communications and Engagement Director, interviewed on Fox Weather : [link removed] about ASAP's Helene impact report.
 

"(We) could not water our crops. Restaurant accounts were approximately 40 percent of our farm's income, and all accounts are now closed due to Asheville restaurants needing to close their doors,” said another."
—A farmer quoted in Hendersonville Times News : [link removed] reporting on ASAP's Helene impact report
 

"The rich diversity of small fruit and vegetable farms in this region contribute to its identity as a gastronomic destination. To continue to create exceptional dining experiences for locals and visitors alike, these farms need to not only survive, but to thrive."
—Atlanta Journal-Constitution : [link removed] spoke with ASAP and others about local food and farm recovery in Western North Carolina
 
"Everything from Helene impacts the web of sustainability of our communities, and farms are an important piece of that. And so whether you're buying local or whether you're not, [farms] help to make make our communities more sustainable and stronger and more able to get through things like Helene."
—Sarah Hart, interviewed on Blue Ridge Public Radio : [link removed] about ASAP's Helene impact report

CONNECT WITH ASAP
: [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] 
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.
 

: [link removed]



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

Subscribe to this newsletter:
[link removed]
Unsubscribe [email protected]:
[link removed]
Change your preferences:
[link removed]
Forward to a friend:
[link removed]
Report this email as spam:
[link removed]

This email was sent using MyNewsletterBuilder.com.