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monthly news from ASAP | JANUARY 2020 | asapconnections.org
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Business of Farming Conference Next Month
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Have you registered for the Business of Farming Conference (Feb. 22, at the AB Tech Conference Center in Asheville, NC)? Early-bird registration rates are available until Feb. 1. Register now to save! Discounts are also available for farm partners registering together and scholarships are available; contact [email protected] for more information.
Network at the Grower-Buyer Meeting. The early list of restaurant, wholesale, and value-added buyers includes Biltmore Estate, Cultura, Food Matters Market, French Broad Food Co-op, The Hop Ice Cream Cafe, Katie Button Restaurants (Button & Co. Bagels, Cúrate), Mandara Hospitality Group (Bargello, Posana), Mother Earth Food, Mountain Food Products, The Omni Grove Park Inn, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery, TRACTOR Food and Farms, Well Seasoned Table, and Wicked Weed Funkatorium. Check back at our website to find more buyers as they are confirmed as well as tips for a successful Grower-Buyer Meeting experience.
Plan what workshops to attend. Find workshop descriptions and conference schedule on our website.
Enjoy locally sourced meals. Thank you to sponsors Ingles Markets and Farm Burger for providing conference breakfast and lunch.
Interested in volunteering for the conference? We need people to help with setup and breakdown, workshop moderation, and registration. In exchange for five hours of help, you may attend workshops and enjoy a locally sourced breakfast or lunch. Fill out the volunteer application form.
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Save the Date for CSA Fairs
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CSA fairs are great opportunities to find out about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs in your community and see if there is one that is a good fit for you. There are three fairs scheduled for the Appalachian Grown region this year. Find one near you!
Farm Fresh Appalachia CSA Fair
Saturday, Feb. 29, 10 am-1 pm, Kingsport Farmers Market
Presented by Appalachian RC&D Council with CSA farms from Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
Asheville CSA Fair
Thursday, March 12, 3-6 pm, New Belgium Brewing Co.
Presented by ASAP with CSA farms offering pickup locations in Buncombe Co., NC.
High Country CSA Fair
Thursday, March 26, 4-6 pm, Leon Levine Hall of Health Sciences, Boone, NC
Presented by ASAP, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, and Beaver College of Health Sciences at Appalachian State University, with farms offering pickup locations in the High Country, NC.
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Can't make it to a CSA fair or want more information about Community Supported Agriculture? Look for the 2020 edition of Full Share, ASAP's free CSA resource, at winter farmers markets and community centers in the region.
CSA programs have grown in popularity and now offer a plethora of choices for subscription size, product mix, payment plan, and more. Full Share will help you navigate the variety of options in your community and find the right CSA farm for you this spring. Need help finding a copy? Give us a call or stop by ASAP's office.
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Meet Debbi Timson, Growing Minds Program Coordinator
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Meet ASAP's new Growing Minds Program Coordinator, Debbi Timson, set up here for a sweet potato taste test at Hillcrest Head Start Center in Asheville (see a sweet potato recipe, below, for snacking ideas). Debbi comes to ASAP from Buncombe School Nutrition and is a former pre-K teacher. Reach out to Debbi for information on the NC Farm to Preschool Network, cafeteria taste tests, and how to advocate effectively for improved school food.
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Get in the Guide—by Jan. 31
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 Have you updated your Local Food Guide yet? We update this guide annually so that the community stays up to date on where they can find and connect with Appalachian Grown food and farms. As the growing season slows down for the winter, staff and volunteers will call more than 1,400 farms, tailgate markets, and businesses over the next two months to ensure we have complete and current information for the printed guide, which comes out in April, and online at appalachiangrown.org. Update your listing today online or over the phone by calling the ASAP office at 828-236-1282.
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 FACES OF LOCAL |
| |  ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talk with attorney Bill Durr of Ward and Smith, P.A., which is a sponsor of the 2020 Business of Farming Conference. Durr will co-lead a conference workshop, A Decade of Farming and the Legal Issues You’ll Face Along the Way.
How is Ward and Smith involved with local food and farms?
We are involved with local food and farms in many ways. We provide legal representation to farms and farmers not only in Western North Carolina but across the state. This includes both farming specific legal advice (think USDA/FSA issues), business and HR advice, as well as estate planning and administration services for farmers and their families. Our litigation team assists farmers in a variety of disputes, including right of way and other land use disputes, contract litigation, and even personal injury cases. We also represent restaurants and other purveyors who prominently and proudly feature local food products.
You’ll be presenting a workshop on legal issues in farming, as well as hosting informal one-on-one information sessions. What are some topics you’ll be discussing?
Our workshop presentation this year is a bit different from what we have done in past years. This year we will focus on a fictional (but real enough) Western North Carolina farm family as they reflect back on the legal and business challenges they faced over 10 years of farming. We will explore what they did well and where they could have made better decisions. We hope that along this journey, our audience gains valuable information and insight about how they may improve their farming operations. The topics we will cover include business formation, labor and employment, litigation (how to avoid it and what to do if you cannot resolve a dispute), and estate planning/succession planning issues.
You’ve been involved with the Business of Farming Conference for nearly a decade. What are some things you’ve learned by being involved?
First and foremost, we have learned so much about the myriad of ways the Business of Farming Conference helps local farmers and the entire farming/local food community. Being involved for as long as we have, we also have seen the tremendous growth in the local farming community's participation in the event. We also have come to appreciate the cooperative and friendly nature of everyone involved in the conference. During the conference we always enjoy seeing old friends and making new acquaintances. It is both a privilege and an honor to be involved with such a fantastic and worthwhile event.
Do you have a favorite farm or local food experience?
Having grown up on a small farm, my favorite farm or local food experience happens anytime I am able to get on a farm. From those experiences, some my best recent experiences have been local farm dinners. There is nothing more satisfying than enjoying great food that was grown and harvested a few yards from where it is prepared and eaten. We are truly blessed to be able to call western North Carolina home.
Register now for the Business of Farming Conference, Feb. 22 at AB Tech Conference Center in Asheville!
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PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT |
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 RECIPE OF THE MONTH |
| |  In need of a quick easy brunch or a warm snack on one of these chilly winter days? Sweet potato fritters are the perfect solution. Give them something extra by throwing cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg into the mix. This recipe comes from our Growing Minds recipe database.
Ingredients
- 4 large local sweet potatoes
- 2 yellow onions (cut into chunks and placed in choppers)
- 1 large bunch parsley
- 4 cups flour
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups applesauce
Instructions
- Wash all the vegetables.
- Grate the sweet potatoes and put them into a large bowl.
- Then mince the onion and put it into the bowl.
- With your fingers, remove the parsley leaves from the stems and rip the parsley into small pieces. Add the parsley to the potato and onion mix.
- Carefully measure one cup of flour and add it to the bowl. Measure and add 1/2 cup of applesauce.
- Add a dash of salt and pepper.
- Stir the ingredients together.
- Shape the sweet potato mix into small balls by squeezing a small handful of the dough in your palm. Flatten the dough with your hands and place the “pancake” on a tray. Repeat until all of the dough has been shaped into patties.
- Put several tablespoons of oil into the saute pan over medium heat. Add the pancakes and cook until they are golden brown on each side.
- Remove the pancakes from heat and place on paper towels.
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 MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS |
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 ASAP’s Growing Local audio series runs on WNCW on Monday mornings during Morning Edition at 8:45 a.m. Here are a few recent episodes:
You can listen to all Growing Local episodes on SoundCloud, iTunes, or on ASAP's website.
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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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