monthly news from ASAP    |   November 2025    |    asapconnections.org

Get Ready for Giving Tuesday on December 2
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Giving Tuesday is coming up on Dec. 2. This year we’re featuring voices from across the local food movement all speaking to their support system and the ways we, together as a community, lift each other up. With you at our sides, ASAP is a support system for farmers in our region. In our annual farmer survey we heard:
"ASAP has been crucial to the success of my farm through promotion of local agriculture, offering financial assistance, marketing materials, and generally being awesome people who are always supportive.""From 2019 to 2024, ASAP has supported my farm’s development into what it is today. Programs like the cost share, the farm tour, workshops, accessible grant funding, attending the biz of farming conference and in turn speaking at that event—all have provided my farm with notable support.""It is reassuring having ASAP out there promoting our small farm.""ASAP did a wonderful job giving actionable, clear, helpful, and relevant resources to farmers very quickly after the storm. Invaluable, you all are the best!"
A gift today and through Giving Tuesday sustains ASAP as a support system for farmers. You are an integral piece of our support system and we need you today. Please support ASAP this Giving Tuesday! : [link removed] Open for ASAP's Business of Farming Conference
ASAP's Business of Farming Conference : [link removed] will be Saturday, February 28, 2026, at A-B Tech Conference Center in Asheville, NC. Registration and scholarship applications for limited-resource farms are open now. : [link removed] Register by Feb. 1 to receive the early-bird discount and save more by registering with a farm partner. 

 ASAP’s annual Business of Farming Conference brings together professional farmers from across the Southeast region to network and share resources to grow their farm businesses. Farmers learn about marketing, business planning, and financial management from regional experts and innovative peers. The conference is designed for beginning and established farmers as well as those seriously considering farming as a profession.  
This year, ASAP is also partnering with NC Cooperative Extension : [link removed] to offer a pre-conference day on Friday, Feb. 27, from 1 to 6 p.m., also at A-B Tech, titled Rooted in Research: Growing Small Farm Production. Register for both events to receive $10 off.
 Does your business offer products or services for farmers? Consider sponsoring or exhibiting at the conference! A sponsorship showcases you as a leader of the local food movement, ensuring that farmers have the tools they need to grow and thrive. Both sponsors and exhibitors receive table space in the conference exhibitor hall to connect with more than 200 farmers at all stages of their careers. Email [email protected] : mailto:[email protected]  to find out more about opportunities.



SNAP Gap Support at Asheville City Market
: [link removed] is continuing to offer SNAP gap support at Asheville City Market : [link removed] for anyone impacted by the delay or reduction of SNAP benefits this month. Made possible through a generous donor, SNAP-eligible shoppers can receive $40 in market tokens to spend on food from local farms and vendors at Asheville City Market each Saturday in November. Customers do not need to swipe a SNAP card to receive these tokens. 
 

In addition to the crisis for those who rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table, the SNAP disruption hurts farmers, who have lost income from regular customers who use SNAP and Double SNAP to buy local food. This comes at a time when many farmers in our region have also lost income due to the termination of other state and federal local food access programs, and are still recovering from Helene. ASAP is focused on forging solutions that support both farmers and our community in accessing healthy, local food.
 

Funding for this emergency support at Asheville City Market comes from a private donor and is not part of ASAP’s regional Double SNAP for Fruits & Vegetables : [link removed] program. For any SNAP participants who have funds on their SNAP cards, ASAP will continue to match up to $20 for fruits and vegetables at all participating farmers markets.



Helene Impact: Snapshot Assessment on Financial Support
: [link removed]'s Local Food Research Center : [link removed] has released a second report on the impacts of Hurricane Helene, assessing the financial supports and assistance for farms in Western North Carolina. The goal of this snapshot is to offer some perspective on trends and findings for the type of support that may be most needed for early intervention, as well as identify gaps and continued areas of uncertainty over the next phase of recovery. This report, as well as ASAP's initial report on the storm's impact, published in spring 2025, are available on ASAP's website : [link removed]. 
 

Some key challenges emerged:
Farms denied support based on small scale and/or diversified business models;Confusion around what losses were covered by what program;Compensation rates based on commodity pricing versus direct market sales;Insufficient replacement reimbursement for mature plants/trees;Questions around if or how lost revenue would be considered;Burdensome and slow process of applying for state and federal support including duplicate forms, necessary farm or office visits, as well as issues with online forms when power and internet were not available.With delay and uncertainty of what losses would be compensated, many farms had to plan and start the 2025 season with a different baseline or expectations. How this impacts 2025 production and sales will be examined with ASAP's end-of-year Appalachian Grown producer survey, but farmers mentioned delayed or reduced production, loss or reduction of reliable markets such as restaurants and agritourism, higher costs and pivots across market outlets reducing efficiencies and profits. 
 

Like farmers in the region, ASAP continues to assess impacts and changing needs in the aftermath of the storm to support farm stability and a more resilient food system. This is part of ongoing research and learning that informs ASAP and partner strategies.



Case Study: Growing Minds in Haywood County Schools
: [link removed] the past two years, ASAP's Growing Minds Farm to School : [link removed] team has been partnering with Haywood County Schools to better integrate farm to school into Career and Technical Education. A new case study : [link removed] by ASAP's Local Food Research Center looks at the planning, activities, impact, and takeaways from the project. 

 

As part of the project, ASAP formed an Ambassadors Cohort of CTE educators in agriculture, horticulture, and food science programs. ASAP supported projects like building raised garden beds, designing no-till gardens, and offering a farmer-led business and marketing class for students at Two Trees Farm/Sustainabillies : [link removed]. CTE students also led farm to school activities with elementary students in the same district, including taste tests and a Spring Agriculture Day.

Ninety-two percent of students said in a survey that they anticipate using the knowledge and skills they gained in their future careers. Educators found significant value in participating in the cohort. The project increased collaboration between educators and facilitated relationships with community partners and local farms. It also helped educators think outside the box when planning their curriculum. Said one educator: “I would never have considered anything like this were it not for Growing Minds and all the conversations we have had this school year about farm-to-table and helping our environment."



Welcome New ASAP Staff
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Brad Ward is ASAP's new Finance Director. Born and raised in Winston-Salem with family roots in Avery County and Eastern Tennessee, Brad grew up in the heart of the state's tobacco economy. Brad relishes the idea that ASAP was originally formed to assist the farmers of WNC in transitioning away from tobacco and into a thriving local food economy. Brad met his life-partner Kristen in Greensboro, where they both attended the University of North Carolina. They moved to the mountains in 2011 with their daughter and worked together at the Arthur Morgan School in the South Toe River Valley north of Asheville. In 2016 their family (which had grown by a son) moved to Asheville, then Hendersonville, where Brad worked as Finance Director for St. Gerard House, a nonprofit serving children and adults on the autism spectrum.  
: [link removed] Roehrig is ASAP's new Farm Resilience Manager. After a Peace Corps stint working with rice farmers in Madagascar, Jason moved to North Carolina in 2002 with to start his own small-scale farm. He spent his first years of vegetable production in Pittsboro, selling at the Durham Farmers Market and through a tiny CSA. Jason also served as the program director for the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund at RAFI-USA from 2002 to 2010, working with hundreds of farm entrepreneurs from across North Carolina. It was in this role that Jason first became acquainted with ASAP. In 2007, he and his wife, Shiloh, started Tumbling Shoals Farm a diversified, organic vegetable farm in rural Wilkes County. As a direct market farm, Tumbling Shoals benefitted in many ways from ASAP services. Jason and Shiloh sold the farm in 2024. Jason managed the transition to new management until accepting the position of Farm Resilience Manager at ASAP.



FACES OF LOCAL
Crawford Rizor
: [link removed] with his wife, Jess West, Crawford Rizor has owned and operated beeswax & butter : [link removed], a micro bakery based in Asheville, North Carolina, since 2018. Together they craft delicious baked goods including their classic and fun shaped macarons that can be found at West Asheville : [link removed], River Arts District : [link removed], and North Asheville : [link removed] farmers markets. All of their ingredients—eggs, produce, herbs, honey, beeswax, and flour—come from regional producers, most of whom are their fellow market vendors. For the second year, Crawford has joined ASAP’s seasonal team to help fellow local businesses update their information in ASAP’s online and print Local Food Guide : [link removed].

What is your favorite part of running your local bakery?
 

I love the way that we run our bakery because it allows us so much freedom in our lives. It’s just the two of us, so we can change things as needed to accommodate our lives—if we are sick, if there is a snow day, or a disaster like Helene, where we are all affected by the same thing, for example. Because we have close relationships and great two-way communication with all the people whom we do business with, we have that flexibility and understanding when things change. It’s very personal—we refer to our vendors by their names, not by their business names or products. The same is true of our customers. I love having that level of interconnectedness in everything we do. 
 

That interconnection thread shows up in our food stream as well. All of the local ingredients we source from markets stay within the local food system. Everything we produce is going back out into the market where we got those ingredients, back to the mill where we get our flour from, and out to restaurants where we know those folks are serving people who live here. I’m grateful for that reinforcement of a local economy and local food stream.
 

What value do you see in sourcing local ingredients for your products? 
 

Beyond the personal connection, I value that reinforcement of the local food economy and the infrastructure that supports farmers, producers, and consumers. I can’t stress the importance of that enough, especially after we have seen how easy it is to disrupt the supply chain nationally and even regionally. I love when I’m vending at market and I can see the progression of the season through what’s available. We want to keep refining our products to incorporate what’s available to us. Now I know when to buy something, who to buy it from and when it’s going to be at its best. Being in tune with seasonality also helps me make sure I am waiting long enough that there is enough of a certain crop that the price may be better because the producer may have more than they can offload. 

What kind of role does beeswax & butter play in our local food system?
 

It’s another opportunity to showcase and bring attention to the foods that are being procured by others in the area. There are foods that are native to this region, and that context is important. There are foods that may not be native, but still have a rich and long history in the region, like apples and peaches. While neither of those are native foods, they still have a strong history that pervades the culture in ways that may not be immediately apparent. For someone who grew up around here, they hold a lot of memories of eating the perfect peach at the height of summer. I think being able to talk to consumers about those things is another way to keep that history alive. 
 

Additionally, while we process and freeze a lot to use later, we do use most of our products when they are in season. I love the opportunity to talk to people at markets and share little tidbits about that particular crop. The ones that come up the most are the ones that are less common, like pawpaw. I have a whole spiel for that because most don’t know what they are. So, when we use them in our pastries it’s an opportunity for folks to learn about what that is, the significance of it in native cultures, and how the fruit may have been eaten. I want to be a part of passing that knowledge down, especially when they aren’t typically western foods. I love being able to turn people onto a new food.
 

Headed into your second year as a Local Food Guide : [link removed] caller, what are some takeaways on the value of being in the Local Food Guide as a small business?
 

I now know to share that resource with other people and make sure they know it’s a resource available to them. Recently, I had a friend looking for wholesale eggs at a time when the egg producers are ramping down, and they were able to find someone same-day through the Local Food Guide. If I’m looking for something specific I know I can use the online and print guide to find what’s available in our area.

 

Having a listing is a really low-entry and low-cost way of getting business. I can’t think of another ad system that would be at the same price point of being in the print guide, and obviously having an online listing at appalachiangrown.org : [link removed] is free. For the low amount of effort that goes into it, it’s a really easy decision to make—to be seen by thousands of consumers and local businesses. People who are picking up the guide are already values-aligned in supporting local food. They might be looking for a restaurant or business who has a specific item, so you already know you are starting at a place that has that shared value in local food. It really brings everyone together.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Crockpot Apple Butter : [link removed]
Apple butter makes a great addition to holiday baked goods or homemade gifts. Today, Executive Director Molly Nicholie led ASAP staff in an apple butter tasting, utilizing apples staff picked at Stepp's Hillcrest Orchard : [link removed] last month. Stepp's donated 10 percent of proceeds from this season's corn maze to ASAP's farmer support programs!
 

Makes 7 or 8 half-pint jars
 
Ingredients
Apples, mixed variety, washed (the amount can vary, but you want to fill a six-quart slow cooker)2 cups sugar1 cup water or apple cider2 tsp cinnamon½  tsp cloves½ tsp allspicepinch saltDirections
Core and cut apples, leave skins on. Fill a six-quart slow cooker. add sugar and spices and water. Cover and cook on low overnight (10 hours or so)Next morning blend with immersion blender or in a blender. Cook on high uncovered for 6 hours or so, stirring now and then, until thick. To test for doneness, remove a spoonful and hold it away from cooker for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon. Another way to determine when the butter is cooked adequately is to spoon a small quantity onto a plate. When a rim of liquid does not separate around the edge of the butter, it is ready for canning.To can: Put in clean sterilized pint or half pint jars. Cap with lids and rings prepped per directions that came with the new lids. Process in water bath for 10 to 15 minutes. You can freeze too but best to use plastic containers.Find more recipes at growing-minds.org : [link removed] and asapconnections.org : [link removed].

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
 

"Our commitment to sourcing local produce and supporting local farms is the core of our ethos at Luminosa. We hold to the objectives set forth by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and work hard to utilize all trim from our kitchen in sustainable ways such as an extensive fermentation program and close collaboration with the bar team as well. We also practice full snout-to-tail butchery in-house."
—Chef Graham House in the Michelin Guide : [link removed]
 

"Focused on supporting WNC farmers and promoting local food, ASAP has announced that through a generous private donation, SNAP recipients can receive $40 in tokens per household each week for the month of November to spend on products at the Asheville City Market, hosted 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays on North Market Street downtown."
—Mountain Xpress : [link removed]
 

"Community organizations are stepping in to help fill the gap. Donation sites at libraries and other locations have collected more than 5,000 pounds of food for Manna Food Bank and partner organizations. The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Program is providing $40 market tokens to SNAP-eligible shoppers at the Asheville City Market through November, enabling families to buy locally grown produce."
—828 News Now : [link removed] 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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