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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

ASAP - Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project

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ASAP - Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project

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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06/04/2026

Meet and welcome ASAP's two other interns!

Yazmin is ASAP's Growing Minds intern working on our Harvest of the Month project along with supporting farmer to ECE center connections. Her past experience as a volunteer instructor with Cooking Matters at Home, teaching families how to eat healthier on a budget, led her to want to be involved in a similar capacity, but more behind the scenes.

During her public health nutrition internship, Yazmin hopes to gain skills and experience across various areas within the organization to later identify ways to further improve outcomes worldwide, not just in Appalachia. In her free time, she loves to read books and webcomics.

Eliana is working with ASAP's Local Food Research Center as a McCullough Fellow through UNC Asheville. Her research will be conducted through informal interviews with farmers in the greater Asheville region to discuss the specific challenges each farm has faced since Hurricane Helene's destruction. The data collected from this research will be included in ASAP’s next annual Local Food Guide and published in her paper in December 2026.

Eliana is a senior at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, majoring in English Literature. After graduating, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in Library Science with a focus on archival work!

06/03/2026

Meet and welcome two of ASAP's current interns!

Tenley is ASAP's Summer Engagement Intern and she will be helping with Double SNAP promotion, engagement events at farmers markets and more, and assisting with the Farm Fresh Produce Prescription program. Tenley also works with Bounty & Soul and River Arts District Farmers Market.

Tenley first discovered ASAP during the 2024 Farm Tour. She's excited to learn more about our local food system, better understand both the challenges and rewards of farming, and build deeper connections within this community. She is especially excited to support the Produce Prescription Program and help connect community members using SNAP to fresh local food. Outside of work, Tenley spends her time worshiping her orange tabby cat, practicing yoga, and tending to her two bee hives 🐝

Anne Elise is deeply passionate about local food and making sure that it's accessible to everyone. They are excited to intern with ASAP's Local Food Research team this summer to get a deeper understanding of WNC's local food system and to help analyze data that improves ASAP's programming. Outside of work you can find them reading on the front porch, going for long walks, and trying new recipes with local, seasonal produce!

06/01/2026

A new report from ASAP's Local Food Research Center is out now! This data brief compares prices at farmers markets and retail outlets revealing that seasonal produce and local eggs often cost the same at farmers markets as in grocery stores.

In ASAP's “Why Buy Local?” consumer research report (2025), Local Food Research Center found that 87 percent of consumers in Western North Carolina purchased local food products at least monthly. The primary driver was connection and support of local farmers. However, 35 percent of these local food shoppers reported that price was a barrier to buying more local food. Among typical shoppers, this figure rose to 57 percent.

Therefore, ASAP conducted an environmental audit of 10 farmers markets and 13 nearby retail stores in autumn of 2025. The purpose of the audit was to assess food prices on seasonal food items and to assess product labeling including name/variety, price, and growing practices.

Read the full report at asapconnections.org/local-food-research-center.

05/29/2026

As May turns the corner to June and we finally get some rain to break the drought–a little too much, though–produce abundance is ramping up. Some of the first basil has been spotted along with short-season cherries and garlic scapes. Not too much longer we’ll have summer squash and zucchini growing out our ears!

Plus, Farmers Market will reopen next week beginning Thursday, June 4, from 3 to 6 p.m.

Try out these short-season garlic scape and cherry recipes in this week’s roundup of What’s Fresh at Buncombe County farmers tailgate markets at asapconnections.org.

Not in Buncombe? Search for markets across the region at appalachiangrown.org

05/28/2026

As the school year gets close to wrapping up, our Growing Minds team has been quite busy with end of year celebrations, tea parties, taste tests, and pop-up sprout markets. What a joy to invite children to taste local ingredients, learn more about where their food comes from, and even meet a real life farmer!

We also want to extend a thank you and special shout out to Chef Emily of Bone & Broth, who helped make local root veggie chips for the kids to try–we'd say it was a hit! And to Terramonga Hub Farm for setting up a table so kids could experience "purchasing" produce right from the farmer.

05/27/2026

Want to gain visibility for your business and connect with the region's passion for local food? Be a Farm Tour sponsor! ASAP's annual Farm Tour (Sept. 19-20 this year) has approximately 2,000 participants who are eager to engage with their community and find fun experiences. Contact ASAP's Development Director, Nora Scheff ([email protected]), to learn more about how to showcase your support of local food and farms.

05/26/2026

It’s no secret that Asheville and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountain region draws visitors from all over. Travelers flock for the sweeping mountain views, vibrant food culture, and the opportunity to slow down and experience the landscape in a deeper way. Visiting farms, whether from out of town or in one’s own backyard, has become one of the most meaningful ways to take in that scenery while experiencing a true taste of place.

Across Southern Appalachia, farms welcome visitors to wander through apple orchards, pick strawberries straight from the field, taste the grape harvest in handcrafted wines, or gather bouquets in colorful flower patches. Children feed goats through wooden fences, families take tractor rides through orchards, and visitors leave with bags of farm goods raised just yards away. For many farmers, these moments are more than an average day on the farm—they are part of a vital economic lifeline known as agritourism.

In this year’s Local Food Guide, we look at agritourism as a means for farms to welcome back visitors after Helene with stories from , , , and .

Read more of these stories at asapconnections.org/guide, or look for the print edition, available for free at farmers markets, local businesses, and other community locations over the coming weeks.

05/22/2026

Beets might not be a favorite for everyone, but they sure taste like something ancient rising from the earth. The first beets were actually sea beets growing along the coastal regions of the Mediterranean. Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans first cultivated the sea beet for its leafy greens–think something like swiss chard.

In hot climates where the beet originated, chilled dishes are a welcomed and cooling delight, making them a perfect addition to any mezze platter. And after the week of heat we have had, a mezze spread might be right up your alley!

Try out these Moroccan beet salad and beet yogurt dip recipes in this week's roundup of What's Fresh at Buncombe County farmers tailgate markets at asapconnections.org.

Not in Buncombe? Search for markets across the region at appalachiangrown.org.

05/19/2026

This year, students across North Carolina will eat locally grown products in school meals, engage in educational activities about agriculture and nutrition, and take part in school gardening experiences.

According to the 2023 USDA Farm to School Census, 59 percent of school nutrition departments in North Carolina served local foods in their schools, ranking 34th out of 50 states, and 10 percent of total food costs came from local products, ranking 41st out of 50 states.

School nutrition directors often want to purchase more local products, and farmers often want to sell to local school districts, but challenges to purchasing local food remain.

In this year’s Local Food Guide, we feature the momentum and challenges behind local food in schools. This story is excerpted from the original by Analisa Sorrells Archer with Education NC. Find the full text at ednc.org/schools-want-to-serve-more-local-food-in-cafeterias-but-challenges-remain.

Read more of these stories at asapconnections.org/guide, or look for the print edition, available for free at farmers markets, local businesses, and other community locations over the coming weeks.

05/18/2026

Passes are now on sale for ASAP's 2026 Farm Tour! Join us Sept. 19-20 for tours, tastings, demonstrations, and so much more. The Farm Tour is a great adventure for visitors of all ages and interests. Participating farms, all within an hour's drive of Asheville, will be announced this summer.

One car pass ($35) admits everyone in your vehicle to any of the farms on both Saturday and Sunday. Save the date and get your pass at asapconnections.org/farmtour.

Address

306 W Haywood Street
Asheville, NC
28801

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.asapconnections.org/

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