O c t o b e r   2 0 1 9         a s a p c o n n e c t i o n s . o r g

ASAP Crunches!
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Happy Crunch Day! The ASAP staff (along with special guest Scott Bunn, former ASAPer now at the National Farm to School Network : [link removed], in the apple costume!) crunched into local apples (fujis from Creasman Farms : [link removed]) today at noon to celebrate the North Carolina Crunch : [link removed] and National Farm to School Month : [link removed].  
Haven't had a chance to crunch yet? There's still time! You can crunch at any point in October! Gather a group of students, friends, or co-workers and crunch into local apples. We'll be at Asheville City Market : [link removed] on Saturday morning with an apple taste test to continue the crunching festivities.





Save the Date: Business of Farming Conference
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The 2020 Business of Farming Conference : [link removed] will take place Saturday, Feb. 22, at the AB Tech Conference Center in Asheville, NC. Registration will open in early November. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details!
 

ASAP’s Business of Farming Conference brings together professional farmers from across the Southeast region to network and share resources to grow their farm businesses. Farmers will learn about marketing, business planning, branding, and 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.
 

Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the conference? Find out more : [link removed].



Reserve Your Thanksgiving Turkey
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Looking for a local turkey for your Thanksgiving table? Appalachian Grown farms are taking orders! ASAP has compiled a list of local turkey availability : [link removed] on our website, along with size ranges, price per pound, growing practices, and pick up information. Reserve as soon as you can, as farms tend to sell out. 

Not a fan of turkey (or not able to find a local one to your liking)? Farms have other great options for your Thanksgiving centerpiece, both meat and vegetarian. Follow us on Facebook : [link removed], Instagram : [link removed], or Twitter : [link removed] this season to see the ASAP staff share their favorite holiday recipes.





Check Your Market's Closing Dates
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Wondering when your favorite farmers tailgate market closes for the season? Markets throughout the region are starting to close or change their hours for the fall, though some will stay open through the end of December. We've got a full list of regular season closing dates and times : [link removed], as well as a roundup of holiday and winter markets : [link removed] by region.





Volunteers Needed!
Do you enjoy talking on the phone? Then join ASAP's 2020 Local Food Guide Phone-a-thon team! Local Food Guide volunteers make calls to local farms and businesses to update information in their online and print guide listings. These calls are typically conducted from 5-7:30 pm, beginning in November 2019 and running through the end of January 2020. It's a fun way to connect with your local food community and help ASAP accomplish a mighty task each year! To learn more or sign up to volunteer, fill out this form : [link removed].





Seeking Winter Interns
ASAP is now accepting applications : [link removed] for winter internships in communications and local food promotions. Interning with ASAP allows students and recent graduates to gain a deeper understanding of how local food systems work and discover how their personal skills and interests can help local farms thrive and build healthier communities through connections to food. 

 
Have questions or want to apply? Visit our website : [link removed] or email [email protected] : mailto:[email protected] .



PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT
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Our October photo of the month, of flame pumpkins, comes from photographer Beth Frith, marketing specialist for the WNC Farmers Market : [link removed].

FACES OF LOCAL
Cassandra Bare
: [link removed] likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talk with Cassandra Bare of Harvest Farm : [link removed] in Valle Crucis, NC, which has a host of fall activities for visitors. 

 

What can people do at Harvest Farm right now?

We are unique in that we are an eight-acre u-pick pumpkin patch. Customers can harvest their own pumpkins right off the vine. We do have some pre-cut out in the field, because not every family wants to worry about carrying cutters, especially if they have small children, but they still want to go out to the field to choose a pumpkin. We shuttle the pumpkins back to the barn. We’re growing over 40 varieties this year. 

We also have a hayride as well as a hayless “hay ride” for people with allergies. There’s a corn maze. Up here we have the Woolly Worm Festival, so instead of a cow train we have the Woolly Wagon.

Do you have any tips on choosing the perfect pumpkin?

Everybody has their own opinion on what kind of pumpkin they want—that's part of the fun. There’s a different pumpkin for everybody! This year I’ve enjoyed a miniature variety I grew for the first time, called black kat. It’s really unique. There are only two varieties of black pumpkin: dark knight and black kat. I love watching people react if they’ve never seen a black pumpkin before. Also this year I grew a Frankenstein pumpkin. I put the pumpkin in a special mold at the bulb stage and it grew into the face of Frankenstein. People came all the way from Raleigh just to see Frankie!

How long have you been farming?

 

Both sides of my family farm. I come from a background of nursery and Christmas tree farmers, but I got into the produce business a few years ago. I took up pumpkins because my kids were little. It takes eight to ten years to grow and harvest a Christmas tree, and they were bored with that. I thought, let’s try pumpkins—and they love it. Addie is five and Gavin is eight. They both work every weekend on the farm, I guess you would say in customer service. Gavin drives the side by side, bringing pumpkins in from the field. Addie pulls carts back and forth. They look forward to it every year.

 

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe?

Yes, I have my great-grandmother’s pumpkin pie recipe with all the milk and stains on it. 
 

Find more farms to visit this fall by searching ASAP's online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org : [link removed].

RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Appalachian Apple Chips
: [link removed] recipe this month comes from the Growing Minds recipe database. You can find many seasonal recipes that work for kids at adults at growing-minds.org/recipes : [link removed].

Ingredients
5 local apples of your choice, sliced into even 1/8-1/4 inch discs2 tablespoons powdered sugar per baking sheet (optional)Assorted spices or flavoring (cinnamon, salted, lime juice-cumin-curry, or plain are all delicious.)Parchment paperInstructions
Set oven racks on bottom and top quarter of the oven. Preheat to 225 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and dust each with powdered sugar (optional).Line sheets with apples. Do not overlap apples or they will stick together.Dust top of apples with spice combination.Place one sheet on top rack and one on bottom. Rotate baking sheets halfway through cooking.Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours, until apples are golden. Remove apples immediately from sheets onto a cooling rack once out of the oven.

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

ASAP in the News
Early October NC Crunch events received some attention in the press, including Avery's Creek Elementary on WLOS : [link removed].
 

News about hotels in Asheville, and specifically the Create 72 Broadway project, continued to include mentions of Asheville City Market, in the Asheville Citizen-Times : [link removed] and the Mountain Xpress : [link removed].



ASAP on the Air
: [link removed]’s Growing Local audio series runs on WNCW : [link removed] on Monday mornings during Morning Edition at 8:45 am. Here are a few recent episodes:


From a Backyard Experiment to the Family Business : [link removed] Back on 10 Years of Farming : [link removed] Rice at Lee’s One Fortune Farm (part 1) : [link removed] Farmers Find Safety in WNC (part 2) : [link removed] First at Headwaters Market Garden : [link removed] can listen to all Growing Local episodes on SoundCloud : [link removed], iTunes : [link removed], or on ASAP's website : [link removed].



CONNECT WITH US
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asapconnections.org : [link removed] | growing-minds.org : [link removed]
appalachiangrown.org : [link removed] | fromhere.org : [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.

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

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