ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. Each month we interview someone working in agriculture, the food system, farm to school education, or community health. These stories are also shared in our monthly newsletter.
In 2020 at the start of COVID-19, Mike and Sara Hedge of Hedge Family Farm put their grand road trip on hold to start farming in Happy Valley, North Carolina. With the help of an incubator farm at the Patterson School Foundation and program support from ASAP, Hedge Family Farm is thriving in their sixth
Ellie Goldstein is a farmer and co-owner of Smallholding Farm in Morganton, NC and Main Season Market and Brewery in Marion, NC. In 2020, Ellie was working in residential treatment and pursuing a masters in counseling. Daniel, her partner, was growing on a quarter acre in Alexander, NC, with sights set on providing high-quality produce
Born and raised in Western North Carolina, Dakota Parker (pictured on left) serves as the Downtown Event Coordinator for the City of Hendersonville, as well as the Market Manager for Hendersonville Farmers Market (HFM). Dakota didn’t come into this role with much experience or knowledge of farmers markets or local agriculture four years ago, but
Stephen McDonald is YWCA of Asheville’s new Kitchen Manager. Formerly, Stephen worked as the Assistant Food and Nutrition Manager at Verner Center for Early Learning. He also worked with ASAP to provide a taste test at our CSA Fair earlier this month! He has a true passion for creating outstanding meals using local ingredients that
George Frangos is the co-founder and co-owner of Farm Burger, which has multiple locations across the Southeast, including two in Asheville. George has a deep respect for the land and the people who farm it. Through his time at multiple high-end farm-to-table restaurants, George transfers his expertise and passion into celebrating and redefining the burger.
Amy Nance Nelson works as a registered nurse and integrative health coach at NC Agromedicine Institute. Founded in 1999, the institute is a collaboration between East Carolina University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and North Carolina State University. The collaboration aims to address unique health and safety risks to farmers, farm workers, foresters,
Emily Green (pictured on the right) is executive chef and co-owner of Bone & Broth on Charlotte Street in Asheville, North Carolina. Both & Broth features dry-aged cuts from regional farms, mountain-grown produce, and fresh-baked goods from local bakeries. When Emily isn’t in the kitchen preparing decadent meals woven with local ingredients, she’s immersed in
Along with his wife, Jess West, Crawford Rizor has owned and operated beeswax & butter, a micro bakery based in Asheville, North Carolina since 2018. Together they craft delicious baked goods including their classic and fun shaped macarons that can be found at West Asheville, River Arts District, and North Asheville farmers markets. All of
Rita Stepp (pictured second from the left) and her family own and operate Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Her family has been doing pick-your-own apples since the early ’60s and now offer a multitude of agritourism activities. This year, their five-acre corn maze is dedicated to WNC farms with a portion of proceeds
Barclay Taylor is a Career and Technical Education teacher at Pisgah High School, currently teaching horticulture, plant production, and landscaping in grades 9 to 12. Over the past year, Barclay and other Pisgah High CTE teachers worked with ASAP’s Growing Minds to deepen the farm to school focus within their horticulture, food science, and animal