ASAP's Weekly Farmers Market Report - March 26, 2021

Fresh at Farmers Markets

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Farmers tailgate markets are readying tents for a new season—and those that have continued through the winter are welcoming back farms and other food vendors. At these early spring markets, you will find much of the produce we’ve seen through the winter, like cold-hardy greens and tender salad mixes. But you can also start to look for spring alliums and more root veggies coming in. As always, you can also get mushrooms, eggs, meat, cheese, bread, and prepared foods. A wide variety of plant starts will be available over the next few months. 
 
While much of the uncertainty that accompanied spring market openings at the start of the pandemic last year is gone, COVID-19 precautions are still in effect. That means you can expect social distancing measures, like limiting the number of shoppers and spacing out lines. Masks will still be required. Check individual market websites and signage for details and updates. 
 

This coming Saturday is the final date of ASAP Farmers Market’s winter season, with hours from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The spring market season will start April 3 and continue at A-B Tech location (340 Victoria Rd.). Hours will change to 9 a.m. to noon. Look for most of the same vendors who have been at the winter market as well the addition of more produce farms, like Green Toe Ground : [link removed], New Roots Market Garden : [link removed], Jake’s Farm : [link removed], Headwaters Market Garden : [link removed], Bear Necessities Farm : [link removed], and Fiddler’s Green Farm. Carolina Flowers : [link removed] will be back with vibrant blooms, and you can shop for plants from High Country Nursery : [link removed] and Finally Farm : [link removed]. 
 

North Asheville Tailgate Market returns to the UNC Asheville campus next Saturday, April 3, from 8 a.m. to noon. While continuing some vendor limits to make social distancing possible, the market expects to have more than 30 farms and other food vendors. Live music will be back this season. 
 

Coming up in the week after, West Asheville Tailgate Market reopens at 718 Haywood Rd. on Tuesday, April 6, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Weaverville Tailgate Market opens for the season on Wednesday, April 7, from 2 to 5 p.m., at a new location just down the road at Gotta Have It Antiques, 60 Monticello Rd. East Asheville Tailgate Market will open earlier in the spring than it has in past seasons—on Friday, April 9, from 3 to 6 p.m., at 954 Tunnel Rd.
 

River Arts District Farmers Market will continue with its winter hours (3 to 5:30 p.m.) on Wednesdays, indoors and outdoors at Plēb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St. Its spring season officially begins May 5, when more vendors will return to the market. Also in May, look for openings from Enka-Candler Tailgate Market on Thursday, May 6, from 3 to 6 p.m. and Black Mountain Tailgate Market on Saturday, May 8, 9 a.m. to noon.
 

WNC Farmers Market operates daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 570 Brevard Road. Farmers Truck Shed #1 is designated for farmers who sell only what they grow.
 

Spring weather may have you itching to go on adventure. Consider visiting a new farmers market on the way to a hike or bike ride. There are more than 100 markets throughout the Appalachian Grown region, which includes Western North Carolina as well as surrounding counties in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. Find a full list here : [link removed] or use ASAP’s online Local Food Guide : [link removed].

Double SNAP at Farmers Markets

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ASAP’s Double SNAP program : [link removed] will continue for the 2021 season at ASAP Farmers Market : [link removed], East Asheville Tailgate Market : [link removed], Enka-Candler Tailgate Market : [link removed], Hendersonville Farmers Market : [link removed], Mills River Farm Market : [link removed], North Asheville Tailgate Market : [link removed], Transylvania Farmers Market : [link removed], and West Asheville Tailgate Market : [link removed].
 
Double SNAP is a one-to-one match on dollars spent through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at farmers markets. For every dollar spent using SNAP/EBT, customers get twice that amount to buy fresh, healthy food from local farms and vendors. You can help support Double SNAP in 2021 by making a donation : [link removed] to ASAP.

Connect with Us

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appalachiangrown.org : [link removed] | fromhere.org : [link removed]
asapconnections.org : [link removed] | growing- : [link removed] : [link removed]
 
Donate to support local food, strong farms, and healthy communities today! : [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.

Upcoming Events

3/27
Polk Winter Farmer’s Market : [link removed]
 

3/29-4/5
Organic Gardening Series : [link removed]
 

4/1
Sierra Club Webinar: How Geology Shaped Your Favorite Mountains and Waterfalls : [link removed]
 

4/5-4/25
21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge : [link removed]

Find more upcoming events (or post your own) at fromhere.org : [link removed].

ASAP on the Air

: [link removed] Many farmers work part or full-time jobs off the farm while also growing food and running a farm business. Hear Melissa Harwin from Highgate Farm reflect on her years of being a nurse and farmer, and learn how Hayley Creasman and Colby Buchanan balance multiple jobs while working with their family at Creasman Farms on this week's Growing Local : [link removed].


You can listen to all Growing Local episodes on SoundCloud : [link removed], iTunes : [link removed], or on ASAP's website : [link removed] & Farm News

Ten Acre Farm will be featured on the cover of an official Visit North Carolina guide, reports The Mountaineer : [link removed]. 
 

We Give a Share will expand to work with more farms 2021, reports the Mountain Xpress : [link removed]. The initiative, begun in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, purchased food from farms for community meals prepared by Southside Kitchen. 

Seasonal and migrant farmworkers in the region, a group disproportionately affected by COVID-19, received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a Western Carolina University clinic in partnership with Vecinos, an organization providing health services to farmworkers. Find out more in this WLOS story : [link removed].



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

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