Growing Local

The Harmon brothers are at a crossroads with their dairy. They’re getting older and don’t have kids to inherit the farm. So they made the owners of Looking Glass Creamery an offer they couldn’t refuse: buy the dairy and we’ll teach you how to run it. For the next year, the cheesemakers are living in an RV outside the Harmons’ home as they build a future together.

Eating local may seem as simple as buying tomatoes at the farmers market, but there’s a lot of theory to back up why these small acts add up to a resilient food community.

Learn about the work of ASAP’s Local Food Research Center at asapconnections.org/local-food-research-center

When berry season hits Western North Carolina, local ice cream is just around the corner. Listen in on a special delivery at The Hop Ice Cream Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina, and hear how partnerships between farmers and ice cream makers help drive the local economy.

Taste for yourself at a fundraiser for ASAP at The Hop on July 28 from 3-9pm. Special dairy and vegan flavors will highlight produce from local farms. Find out more: https://goo.gl/KnMPU2

Want to connect with local farmers? There are plenty of summertime farm to table events in Western North Carolina. Learn about a few in this podcast, and check out plenty more at www.fromhere.org

Everyone is invited to sample local dishes from chefs, artisan producers, and farming families at ASAP’s Local Food Experience on August 24th at New Belgium Brewing Company in Asheville. Tickets and info: http://asapconnections.org/events/asaps-local-food-experience/

Photo by Sarah Jones Decker, Root Bottom Farm

Ever wondered how local tomatoes get from a farmer’s hands to the grocery store shelf? Take an audio tour of the Ingles Markets distribution center and meet William Shelton, a local farmer who has been growing produce for the grocery chain for nearly 20 years.

How do Peace Corps volunteers in Madagascar become North Carolina farmers? With the help of a longtime farmer and his neighbors. Hear how Shiloh Avery and Jason Roehrig of Tumbling Shoals Farm pass on that same knowledge and kindness at their certified organic farm.

Photo by Sarene Cullen

The community flocked to ASAP’s CSA Fair this spring and now it’s time to dig into all that farm-fresh food. We followed A Way of Life Farm in Sunshine, North Carolina through the CSA season and met some members who can’t wait to try each new fruit and veggie.

Kick off the summer road trip season on ASAP’s Farm Tour. Check out over 20 Western North Carolina farms on June 24th and 25th, 2017. Find tickets and information at www.asapconnections.org

What’s it like to run a creamery with your sisters? The women from Cane Creek Creamery in Fletcher, North Carolina share their family’s farm story during a visit to the creamery.

See for yourself at ASAP’s Farm Tour, June 24 and 25. Tickets and information: www.asapconnections.org

Curious about ASAP’s Farm Tour? Hear this audio postcard from last year’s tour and meet some of the farmers and visitors who spent a glorious summer weekend at Western North Carolina family farms.

The 2017 tour is June 24 and 25th in the Asheville area and surrounding counties. Find ticket information and learn about all the farms on the tour at www.asapconnections.org