December already?! Give the gift of local this holiday season! Farmers tailgate markets have begun their annual holiday markets and they are welcoming the arrival of dozens of new artisan and craft vendors. While you’ll still be able to find some of your favorite seasonal produce, holiday markets can be your one stop shop for unique, thoughtful and locally made gifts for friends, family, and food lovers alike!
If you’re eager to begin decorating your home (or have already started!), look no further than farmers tailgate markets for one-of-a-kind, locally grown and crafted adornments to make this holiday season extra special. For floral decor, Carolina Flowers (Asheville City Market) and Green Toe Ground (North Asheville Tailgate Market) have stunning dried flower wreaths and bouquets to feature in your home. Blazing Star Flowers will have dried bouquets to last far past the holiday season (at River Arts District Farmers Market). Thatchmore Farm (North Asheville and West Asheville markets) and Flying Cloud Farm (North Asheville and River Arts District markets) will also bring their beloved classic holly wreaths. Looking for a locally grown Christmas tree? Country Fields Greenhouse and The Hensley’s will be bringing evergreen trees to the North Asheville Tailgate Market, ready for you to bring home and decorate!
From foodies, home bodies, self-care enthusiasts, to even the hard-to-shop-for gift recipients in your life, holiday markets have one-of-a-kind offerings for anyone! Can’t decide what to get? Purchase market tokens from your favorite market’s information tent that your loved one can spend on anything. For the gourmets and aspiring chefs in your life, look for sampler kits of locally sourced spices from Well Seasoned Table (North Asheville Tailgate Market), a set of handcrafted, small-batch sauces from Better Thymes (North Asheville and River Arts District markets), or a jar of J Chong’s famous chili crisp (North Asheville Tailgate Market). Highland Gourmet (West Asheville and River Arts District markets) also offers a delicious, locally made balsamic vinegar perfect for making dressings, roasting vegetables, braising meat, and more! Find local jellies and jams from Imladris (North Asheville Tailgate Market) and Big Briar Botanicals (West Asheville Tailgate Market).
As the temperature continues to drop, everyone can appreciate a warm beverage made from locally sourced ingredients. You can find delicious tea gift sets, holiday seasonal tea blends, and other herbal loose-leaf teas from vendors like Asheville DiviniTea (Weaverville Tailgate Market) and Iris Folk Medicinals (North Asheville and West Asheville markets). For those who may prefer a drink on the sweeter side, WilderKin Beekeeping has local honey (Asheville City and River Arts District markets), infused honey from Sister of Mother Earth (Weaverville Tailgate Market), and Flying Cloud Farm has homegrown and homemade sorghum syrup (North Asheville and River Arts District markets). Roasted coffee beans, whole and ground, from vendors like Bridge and Tunnel (North Asheville, West Asheville and River Arts District markets) will make any coffee lover happy, but also consider gifting any caffeine fanatic in your life with a locally foraged and crafted mushroom brew or tincture from Wild Goods (Asheville City Market, West Asheville, and River Arts District markets) or The Forest Farmacy (Asheville City and West Asheville markets).
Find an array of fall and winter produce like apples and persimmons, winter squash, cold-hardy greens like, kale, collards, mixed lettuce, and arugula, flowering brassicas like broccoli and cauliflower, and root crops like beets, carrots, turnips, radishes, potatoes, and alliums. You’ll also find farm-fresh eggs, cheese, bread, pastries, fermented products, drinks, and prepared foods. You’ll also find farm-fresh eggs, cheese, bread, pastries, fermented products, drinks, and prepared foods. As always, you can find information about farms, tailgate markets, and farm stands, including locations and hours, by visiting ASAP’s online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org.
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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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Registration for ASAP's Business of Farming Conference is now open!
The annual conference, taking place on Feb. 28, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at A-B Tech Conference Hall in Asheville, NC, 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 experts and innovative peers. The conference is designed for beginning and established farmers as well as those seriously considering farming as a profession.
Additionally, ASAP is partnering with NC Cooperative Extension to offer a pre-conference day on Friday, Feb. 27, from 1 to 6 p.m., at A-B Tech Conference Center in Asheville, NC titled Rooted in Research: Growing Small Farm Production.
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ASAP has officially released the Helene Impact Report on farms, part 2. Read the whole report at asapconnections.org/local-food-research-center/. The report incorporates responses to a survey sent out in April, six months after Helene, on what kind of support and assistance farmers had requested and received, what obstacles they had encountered and what needs remained.
“One of the key takeaways is a lot of these farms, because they’re smaller farms, were getting support primarily from the community, especially at first, whether that GoFundMe or market sales or donations of materials,” Oakley Brewer from ASAP told the Hendersonville Times-News.
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