Lucy Wetzel (pictured on the right) and her two-year-old son Wiley are avid farmers market goers, shopping at multiple markets per week. Lucy participates in both ASAP’s Double SNAP for Fruits and Vegetables program and Farm Fresh Produce Prescription.
How has the Farm Fresh Produce Prescription made an impact on your life and household?
We are so thankful. I have been going to market for 12 plus years. We are pretty devoted to markets. It’s just the way we eat, from our local farms. If there is produce and vegetables available in our area, why wouldn’t we buy it? About 12 years ago I had a lifestyle shift and wanted to be eating healthier and more local. I used to go to the market at the French Broad Coop and I would walk from Montford there to see Chris Parker [of The Forest Farmacy] and B&L Organic—that’s where I would get my veggies for the week. [Double SNAP for Fruits and Vegetables] is already great, then the Produce Prescription on top of it is super great. It really helps us to feel more at ease, to be able to get what we need to eat, and to eat the way we want to.
How did you find out about the prescription and why did you want to sign up?
I found out about the Farm Fresh Produce Prescription through the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) program, and love that it means more money can be poured into farmers at markets. We have gotten good at stretching our food stamps and I am really resourceful as a single mom, but the produce prescription really helps boost our food budget.
What are you buying this time of year and what do you like to do with it? What does Wiley like to pick out?
We love blueberries, or 20-pound boxes of sweet potatoes. We try to get a box for two of those at the end of the season so we can have sweet potatoes through the winter. Wiley, my two-year-old son, loves juice from Amber at Immortal Juice, any type of berries, sweet potatoes, meat—he’s a good meat eater! We love chicken from Good Wheel or Wild East, or beef from Wendy at Dry Ridge, even lamb. Wiley loves cheese too, including mozzarella from Lane in the Woods that we’re going to make into a little tomato salad. We got some melons this past week, too.
Why do you want to shop at farmers markets? What pulls you out of Madison County multiple times a week on a long drive to go to farmers markets?
It’s been really meaningful to be a part of the market community in general and now even more to be able to have access to more food while supporting both our farmers, our health, and our bodies including my son Wiley’s.
The driving to markets multiple times a week from Madison County is so worth it, and it’s perfect because Wiley gets car naps. Another program through HOP (through Land-of Sky Regional Council) is a gas mileage reimbursement that really helps our commute to fresh food. I’ve lived outside of Asheville most of my time here and have gotten used to the drive. It’s so worth it for fresh food grown here.