monthly news from ASAP    |   DECEMBER 2022    |    asapconnections.org

Happy Holidays from the ASAP Staff
: [link removed]
 

The ASAP staff gathers for a retreat each December to reflect on the successes and challenges of the past year and to plan for the new one. We're pictured here outside Creekside Farm Education Center : [link removed], which has been our staff retreat site for the past several years. 

For ASAP (as for many organizations and businesses around the world), 2022 was a year of transitions with plenty of challenges, but also lots of accomplishments. Here are just a few of the things we're celebrating as we close out the year.
Founder Charlie Jackson retired, and Molly Nicholie took on the executive director role.
As a staff, we published : [link removed] an equity statement, intended as a working document that builds shared language and values internally, reflects our commitment externally to our community, and can be a touchstone for guiding our programs and internal practices. Asheville City Market : [link removed] returned downtown to N. Market St. after two pandemic years operating at A-B Tech as ASAP Farmers Market.
ASAP's Farm Fresh Produce Prescription : [link removed] expanded to 12 farmers markets, working with healthcare professionals for seven medical practices, pharmacies, and community health organizations. (Read more about the program below.) ASAP's Double SNAP for Fruits and Vegetables program continued at eight farmers markets.Growing Minds : [link removed] supported 48 schools, childcare centers, and other community groups with grant funding for farm to school activities and equipment. We served as a preceptor for four Dietetic Interns, who worked across Growing Minds and Farm Fresh for Health programming.
Working groups offered the opportunity for peer learning and deeper support. In 2022 we facilitated the Appalachian Grown Farmer Resiliency Project for farmers affected by floods and weather-related events and a working group for new farmers market managers. This month we named a cohort of farmers for a New and Beginning Farmer Working Group, which will begin meeting in 2023. 
We printed 100,000 copies of the 20th anniversary edition of the Local Food Guide : [link removed], including the Business of Farming Conference : [link removed], Farmers Market Summit, Farm Fresh for Health Symposiums : [link removed], Farm Tour : [link removed], and CSA Fair : [link removed], were held in-person.
We redesigned our website, asapconnections.org : [link removed], to make it easier to navigate for ASAP's different communities and constituents.We couldn't accomplish this work without your continued support : [link removed]! We are so grateful to work in these communities and with all of you.



Workshops Announced for Business of Farming Conference

Workshops for the Business of Farming Conference : [link removed] (Feb. 11 at A-B Tech Conference Center in Asheville) are designed to help guide aspiring and seasoned farmers through a variety of questions and challenges. More than a dozen workshops, including seven new, have been announced for the 2023 conference.  
Among the new sessions for 2023 are “Intro to Land Access,” guidance for new or expanding farm businesses on buying or leasing land; “Planning for Long-term Farm Success,” strategies for improving quality of life as a farmer and plan for retirement; and “Farm Resiliency,” drawing from peer farmer experiences to prepare for and recover from adverse weather events. Find a full list of workshop descriptions here. : [link removed] 
 
Register : [link removed] for the conference by Jan. 15 to get discounted early-bird prices. Scholarships are available for limited-resource and BIPOC farmers, as well as discounts for farm partners registering together.



Last-Minute Gift Ideas for the Farmers & Local Food Lovers
: [link removed] need a last-minute gift or two? We can help!

A CSA share : [link removed] is the holiday gift that gives and gives again, providing a weekly box crammed full of seasonal produce, meats, flowers, and more. Search the Local Food Guide for CSA farms : [link removed] market tokens make great stocking stuffers and let the recipient select the products they want the most. You can still pick up tokens at several markets this week, including Asheville City Market : [link removed] and North Asheville Tailgate Market : [link removed] on Saturday; West Asheville Tailgate Market : [link removed] on Tuesday; and River Arts District Farmers Market : [link removed] on Wednesday. Asheville City Market, River Arts District Farmers Market, and Weaverville Tailgate Market : [link removed] will all reopen in January, and North Asheville Tailgate Market returns in February. Have a farmer (or aspiring farmer) on your list? A Business of Farming Conference registration : [link removed] (Feb. 11 in Asheville) lets them know you support the success of their farm business.For more ideas, explore local artisan makers, farmers markets, farm experiences, and more in ASAP's online Local Food Guide : [link removed].



Internship Opportunity
ASAP is looking for a spring semester (approximately mid-January to May) Local Food Engagement Intern. The intern will help plan farmers market engagement activities and support ASAP events and programs like Asheville City Market : [link removed], Business of Farming Conference : [link removed], 2023 Local Food Guide : [link removed], farmer videos, and CSA promotions. (Pictured is Growing Minds Dietetic Intern Cameron Jowers, ringing the bell to open the Asheville City Market earlier this year.) 
ASAP interns are paid a $100 weekly stipend and work about 10 hours each week. Find more details and application instructions. : [link removed] Businesses: Get in the Guide

: [link removed] up! The deadline for updating your information for ASAP's annual Local Food Guide is Jan. 31. You can do it yourself online (login here : [link removed]) or over the phone by calling the ASAP office at 828-236-1282. 
 
ASAP updates the Local Food Guide annually so that the community can stay up to date on how to find Appalachian Grown food and farms. (Check out our 2022 Local Food Guide here : [link removed].)

Have a new farm, restaurant, retail outlet, or other locally sourcing food business that you want to be listed? Go to appalachiangrown.org : [link removed] and click Get in the Guide. An online listing is completely free.



20 YEARS OF ASAP
: [link removed] part of ASAP's 20th anniversary celebration, each month we are sharing the origins of some of our work. This month we're talking about the beginnings of Farm Fresh for Health—an approach we've talked a lot about over the past year, from our Farm Fresh Produce Prescription : [link removed] to the series of symposiums : [link removed] for healthcare practitioners and community advocates we presented throughout the summer and fall.  
From the beginning, ASAP has understood how local food systems are intrinsically connected to community health—economic, social, and physical. As the Growing Minds @ University : [link removed] program, begun in 2011, made inroads in working with dietitians, ASAP began to look for ways to involve more health practitioners in the local food movement. In 2018, ASAP presented Healthy Eating in Practice : [link removed] to a national audience of physicians and other healthcare professionals, offering experiential farm education alongside medical expertise. That conference helped ASAP further develop our concept of Farm Fresh for Health. 
In 2022, ASAP's Farm Fresh Prescription Program expanded to 12 farmers markets, working with healthcare professionals from seven medical practices, pharmacies, and community health organizations, as well as with insurance companies through the Healthy Opportunities Pilot. In 2023, that program will continue to add healthcare partners, as well as pilot a variation on the program in two more rural communities in Western North Carolina.Throughout the summer and fall of 2022, ASAP presented a series of on-farm symposiums for healthcare professionals in Western North Carolina to highlight the principles of Farm Fresh for Health. These convenings were a chance to gather on the farm, at the market, and over the table for conversations around centering local food and farms to improve health outcomes. A passionate community of physicians, nurses, dietitians, food access supporters, and community health workers brainstormed how they could use or deepen Farm Fresh for Health principles in their practices, as well as how their work could intersect with one another’s. Bringing people together to experience local food spaces—especially over shared meals that included the chef and food producers—was a powerful way to demonstrate the impact Farm Fresh for Health can have. In 2023 ASAP will compile case studies based on these events and work happening in the community as a resource.

FACES OF LOCAL
Rod Douglas
: [link removed]
: [link removed] likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talked to…Santa Claus! Actually, this is Rod Douglas who, with his wife, Cyndy, have donated to support ASAP’s Growing Minds : [link removed] program. Rod will also donate his time this Saturday, Dec. 17, by appearing as Santa at Asheville City Market : [link removed] from 10 to 11 a.m. He’s pictured in last year’s Weaverville holiday parade.
 

Why is supporting ASAP important to you?
 

Initially it was due to my wife’s stepmother, Margaret Moss, and her interest in child nutrition.  She passed away in 2018 and, due to unforeseen circumstances, we still had some funds from her estate in 2021 to donate to a cause she would have enjoyed and supported. In the latter part of her career, Margaret was a nutritionist for the WIC program in Robstown, Texas, outside of Corpus Christi. Child health, nutrition, and education about both were very important to Margaret.  
 

My wife, Cyndy, heard a presentation by ASAP for the Asheville chapter of 100+ Women Who Give. It was a welcomed bonus when we first came in to talk about a possible donation that we found [development director] Nora Scheff had moved to the staff [at ASAP]. We knew Nora from a previous nonprofit we supported. When we talked in detail with Nora and others, we learned about the Growing Minds Farm to School program. All they do with small grants for teachers at different schools in the area was a great match for our goals to honor Margaret.
 

What are some of your favorite ways to connect with or enjoy local food and farms in the area?
 

We mainly support and enjoy local food and farms through visits to three or four local tailgate markets as well as enjoying meals at some of the restaurants that specifically emphasize local farm to table practices.
 

How did you get into the Santa Claus game? 
 

While living in Dallas, Texas, in the late 1990s, a friend who owned an entertainment employment agency asked me to play Santa for a couple of small children’s parties. She had the suit and beard which she lent me and I enjoyed it. I did it a few more times over the years in Dallas, including entertaining at a party in appreciation for teachers at our local elementary school. When we moved to the Asheville area and I joined the Asheville Breakfast Rotary Club, one of our very philanthropic members, Don Swaby, wanted me to appear at a luncheon for the staff of the Mountain Child Advocacy Center and give out gifts. He made available to me a beautiful Victorian Santa suit. Since that time I have made several appearances at private children’s parties and other events. All my appearances are either for a child-related nonprofit organization or any fees generated are donated to such an organization. 
 

Do you have holiday traditions that center around food in your family?
 

Yes. For 20-plus years we would gather in the Dallas area with a family from our church and their extended family on Christmas Eve and enjoyed muffaletta sandwiches (she was from Louisiana) and venison chili. The meal was always topped off with Baby Jesus’ birthday cake. We hope to revive that tradition here, now that we have been blessed with a new granddaughter. We’ve also reached back into our Texas heritage and usually try to have tamales on Christmas Eve.
 

Visit Asheville City Market : [link removed] for its final market of the season this Saturday, Dec. 17, from 9 to noon, on North Market Street in downtown Asheville (with Santa appearance from 10-11 a.m.).

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Coffee Rubbed Carrots with Celery Root PureeThis month's recipe comes from Chef Charles Baudendistle of The Admiral : [link removed], and would make a great addition to holiday tables!

"I’ve always enjoyed carrots even as a child," says Charles. "My grandmother always added a little maple syrup or honey and butter. I started thinking about this dish in August. As a chef you move pretty quickly into the next season, in your mind at least. I thought about ingredients that inspire the feeling of a brisk fall day. I always look forward to Evan's carrots [from The Culinary Gardener : [link removed]]. I think sourcing locally is the most important thing for a chef to do."

For the celery root:
1 medium head celery root : [link removed] ounces butter4 ounces white chocolate
For the carrots:
2 tablespoons fine ground coffee2 tablespoons dark brown sugar2 teaspoons salt1 teaspoon black pepper1/2 teaspoon paprika1/2 teaspoon garlic powder1/2 teaspoon onion powder1 pound carrots, peeled1 tablespoon cooking oil1 tablespoon butter
Directions:
Peel celery root completely add to a pot with the melted butter. Cook on low for 5 minutes. Cover celery root with 2 1/2 cups water and put the temperature on medium. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Most of the water should be gone. You’ll need a little bit to make puree smooth. Transfer to blender, add white chocolate, and blend until smooth.Mix together first seven ingredients for the carrot coffee rub and set aside.Cut carrots cut in half then slice into half-inch pieces. In a pot of boiling water, blanch carrots for 5 minutes, then drain. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a sauté pan. Cook carrots on medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add coffee rub and 1 tablespoon of butter and remove from heat.Place celery root puree on the plate as a base, then add carrots on top.
Find more of local food recipes from ASAP here. : [link removed]
“Our favorite dishes often have the fewest ingredients—the ones where the ingredients really shine and are made better by the other few ingredients in the dish and the preparation techniques.” 
—Erica Beneke, co-owner of Red Fiddle Vittles, talks about their new space, sourcing locally, and supporting nonprofits like ASAP in The Laurel of Asheville : [link removed]

“I have customers who have been coming for the pretzels since my first day [at Asheville City Market]. They’ll always be on the menu.”
—Jonathan Price of Crust Never Sleeps talks about opening a brick and mortar bakery with Dawn Alexander after getting their start at Asheville City Market in Mountain Xpress : [link removed] US
: [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] 

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.



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.