monthly news from ASAP    |   April 2025    |    asapconnections.org

Read the 2024 Appalachian Grown Producer Report
: [link removed] : [link removed]
Every year ASAP's Local Food Research Center surveys the farmers in our Appalachian Grown network in order to take the pulse of farming in our region and assess the impact of ASAP's programs and services. The survey includes questions about farm sales, market outlets, customer relationships, farm labor, land access, and more. The 2024 survey was also an opportunity to gather information about the impact of Hurricane Helene. (The Local Food Research Center will report on additional Helene impact data in the coming months.) The report from the 2024 survey is available now. : [link removed] 

 
Farmers’ post-storm experiences varied greatly, ranging from minimal damage and difficulty accessing market outlets to total devastation. Many Appalachian Grown producers reported insufficient or nonexistent farm insurance. Among those with insurance coverage, few expected full reimbursement for their losses. Instead, farmers received or are still seeking support for recovery through grants from local organizations, emergency funds from state and federal agencies, and donations from friends, family, and community members. The recovery process will be slow and will likely affect the 2025 growing season. 
Despite this, the 2024 season was not a total loss for most farmers and interesting new trends emerged. For the first year since 2020, more farmers (51 percent) reported there were a similar number of market opportunities available compared to the year before. This suggests stabilization following the disruption to many market outlets caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Another 31 percent reported more market outlets available compared to 2023, indicating there is still growth in local food sales. Overall, farmers experienced more financial success in 2024, with 58 percent reporting increased sales.  
Ultimately, Appalachian Grown producers remained hopeful in the face of adversity in 2024. Overwhelming community support encouraged many respondents to continue farming and many were driven to give back to their communities by providing them with fresh, healthy, locally-grown produce in 2025.



Appalachian Farms Feeding Families for Restaurants
: [link removed] 
As part of ASAP’s response to Hurricane Helene, we have reestablished Appalachian Farms Feeding Families : [link removed], a dual-benefit program designed to support both farmers and the community. The program gets fresh, locally grown food to people impacted by the storm, while at the same time providing cash flow for farms that are in the process of rebuilding or have lost market outlets. Last month we announced a round of the program for early care and education centers. This month we are opening applications for restaurants to participate : [link removed].
 
Appalachian Farms Feeding Families serves Western North Carolina restaurants with a commitment to supporting local farms. The program offers grants of up to $2,500 per restaurant to invest in local purchasing for their menus or as a staff benefit. Funds can be used to either: 1) supplement the restaurant’s local purchasing budget, or 2) purchase CSA shares/local food for their staff. For both options, payments will be made up in advance directly to the respective Appalachian Grown farm partner. Awarded restaurant applicants will facilitate ordering and delivery/pickup from their farm partner over the course of the season. Restaurants may apply here. : [link removed] Please contact David Smiley : mailto:[email protected]  with any questions.
 
Pictured: The staff of Farm Burger : [link removed] visits Ten Mile Farm : [link removed] in 2023.



Beers That Build: Release Party Tonight!
: [link removed]In celebration of Earth Day, Wicked Weed Brewing has released Appalachian Gold, a new beer featuring locally sourced honey from Wehrloom Honey : [link removed]. Proceeds from Appalachian Gold will benefit ASAP.
 

Join us for the official release party tonight (April 22) at 6 p.m. at the Wicked Weed Brewpub : [link removed], 91 Biltmore Avenue, in downtown Asheville. Catch live music from The Greenliners from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
 

The newest addition to Wicked Weed's Beers That Build series, Appalachian Gold is a honey wheat ale brewed by Wicked Weed’s employee sustainability team, the Green Freaks.
 

Wehrloom Honey : [link removed] offers its varietal honey, homemade skin care, mead, and other fine things at its farm, production center and retail store at 257 Willie Colvin Rd., Robbinsville, NC (Graham County). Visit the store to tour the honeybee observatory and learn all about how bees make honey, the importance of pollinators, and what you can do to help our declining bee populations!



ASAP Has Office Space Available for Lease

: [link removed] the end of 2024, with support of a low-interest loan from Dogwood Health Trust, ASAP purchased the building at 306 W. Haywood Street where we house our offices. This purchase is a huge milestone, one that brings long-term sustainability for the organization as well as the opportunity to explore how we can use this space to support our community. 
In addition to office and warehouse space occupied by ASAP, addition space is now available for lease. This professional office space features ample storage, a reception window, large open spaces, multiple private office spaces, kitchen/break room, and two bathrooms. It is 2380 square feet, centrally located near downtown, and has a dedicated parking area. Just outside of Asheville’s Central Business District, close to I-240 and Patton Avenue. View more details here. : [link removed] LOCAL
Anna Zurliene
: [link removed] Zurliene is the Executive Director of the East Asheville Tailgate Market : [link removed] (Fridays, 3-6 p.m.) and a big supporter of local food systems and community food security. Since her start as director in 2023, Anna has stewarded the gathering of vendors and customers alike to strengthen investment in local foods and more. Anna loves to cook for herself and others and loves finding fresh ingredients at markets. 
 
What are you most looking forward to this season at East Asheville Tailgate Market?
 
After some recovery from Helene, I am looking forward to a fresh season coming out of a disaster zone and centering the market community in a calmer way. I’m really looking forward to our new vendors and a really solid base of returning vendors—it’s going to be a really sweet combination. Much of the feedback we get from our vendors at the end of the year is that they really enjoy the small neighborhood community vibe where customers can come and feel relaxed and really engage with their growers and makers. I’m looking forward to overhearing those conversations again.
 
What are some of your favorite in-season products at the market right now? Do you have go-to recipes for this time of year? 
 
I love Wild Goods : [link removed] ramp butter and now is the season for ramps! I love having just that on a piece of toast from High Top Bread Co. I also like making roasted carrots with a carrot top pesto or gremolata. I have been really into roasted beets with goat cheese, pumpkin seeds, and a vinaigrette, too. 
 
Are there any new vendors this season? 
 
We will have goat cheese from Round Mountain Creamery : [link removed], pastries from Back Porch Baking Co., tamales and more from La Gringa Tamalera. We have some new homesteaders that are coming with more specialized, small-batch products like Farm Girl Garden Craft : [link removed] with their granola and sprouted beans. We’ll also have a new hot food vendor, Pizza Finta, who will have vegan pizza available during market. We have added a flower farmer too—Sari’s Garden Flowers. 
 
How have you seen programs like ASAP’s Double SNAP for Fruits and Vegetables : [link removed] and Farm Fresh Produce Prescription : [link removed] impact the market community?
 
Especially after the hurricane, the number of people getting Disaster SNAP who found out about Double SNAP—it was a game changer for them especially while we were in that unknown space. People were really inspired by that extra help with SNAP. A lot of folks hadn’t known about the program before, so it strengthened education around that too. We have a lot of people who come regularly, so creating a regular customer base is really important. Being able to do that across a wider demographic of people who may not think to come to the farmers market—it has been expanding our community and our ability to reach people. SNAP customers are the customers I interact with the most, and in terms of feedback and engagement, those are the people who are informing the shape of the market. 
 
What are some of your challenges in managing a farmers market?
 
Convincing people that shopping locally and at farmers markets is a choice that they can make. It can be convenient and it can work for you if you choose that and make it a part of your life and weekly routine. The convenience of a grocery store is there, and people have a lot of time and money constraints in their lives, but we are trying to show how markets can be an option for shopping local. We want to show people, beyond the words, that this is an important economy and part of our community too. 
 
We worked to address that in the past by teaming up with ASAP and other weekday markets (West Asheville : [link removed] and River Arts District : [link removed] markets) with the passport program. If folks visited one of these three weekday markets a certain number of times per month then they would get a co-branded tote bag in hopes that this would help build people’s routines and that they would shop at markets even without a prize.
 
Why is shopping at farmers markets important to you?
 
Well for one, the eggs you get at market are about the same price as the grocery store right now so might as well buy local, and same goes for a lot of other foods. Growers have a lot more autonomy and control over their products and pricing than what’s available at grocery stores. Supporting local—especially as tourism is down—we have to be the ones to support our community right now. The food is so much more vibrant and fresh. You can find a lot more specialized foods that you may not expect to find in a grocery store. It’s also a chance to continue to form connections with people in our community, whether that’s other customers or growers. It’s a resource hub for information on what’s going on in our community.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Ramp Butter
In her interview above, Anna mentions ramp butter. You can pick some up from Wild Goods : [link removed] at East : [link removed], West : [link removed], River Arts District : [link removed], and Asheville City : [link removed] markets—or try your hand at making your own!

 

Ingredients
Approximately 20 ramps, sustainably harvested without ends
1 pounds unsalted butter, cut up and at room temperature
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juiceSalt and pepper to taste

Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Wash ramp leaves, trimming off any root ends that are still attached. 
Blanch the ramps in boiling water for a few seconds, then quickly plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Drain and squeeze out as much water from the leaves as possible and transfer to a towel to continue drying off.Chop the ramps finely. Add them to a bowl along with one pound of room-temperature butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix until the ingredients are combined, seasoning with a bit of salt and pepper as you go. You can also blend the ingredients a food processor if preferred. Transfer the butter into air-tight containers, or roll into logs and wrap in parchment or plastic. The butter will stay good in the refrigerator for a week or two, but when frozen you can enjoy your homemade butter for six more months!Find more recipes at growing-minds.org : [link removed] and asapconnections.org. : [link removed]
 

“COVID ushered in more grant funding for food relief nonprofits to purchase locally and generally increased the food-buying budgets for these nonprofits. With the additional funding, those relationships have been sustained over time and grown stronger, contributing more farmers to sell to food relief.”
—Sarah Hart, ASAP's Communication and Engagement Director, quoted in the Mountain Xpress : [link removed] ASAP
: [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] 
asapconnections.org : [link removed] | growing-minds.org : [link removed] | appalachiangrown.org : [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.
 

: [link removed]



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.