Faces of Local

ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month—National Farm to School month!—we’re talking to Nichole Efird, a pre-K teacher with the Cherokee Elementary in the Qualla Boundary. Nichole is part of the 2022-23 Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership, which connects outstanding educators with mentors, creating opportunities … Read more

ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we’re talking to Tiana Kennell, the food and dining reporter for the Citizen Times. Tiana moved to Asheville last year from Shreveport, Louisiana, where she was the Louisiana Flavor Reporter for the Shreveport Times. Did you get to have any farm experiences … Read more

ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we’re talking to Kikkoman Shaw, executive chef for Equal Plates Project (formerly We Give a Share). The organization began during the pandemic as a way to support farmers with diminished sales outlets and provide community members in need with freshly prepared meals. The … Read more

ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we’re talking to Shaniqua Simuel, founder of Change Your Palate, a grassroots whole-food meal prep program focusing on BIPOC people who suffer from type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Shaniqua also works with the WNC Food Justice Planning Initiative and … Read more

ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we’re talking to farmer Aaron Grier of Gaining Ground Farm along with chefs John Fleer of Rhubarb and Brian Canipelli of Cucina 24 about what has made those chef-farmer relationships so strong over the past decade. (Photo of John … Read more

ASAP founder Charlie Jackson is retiring this month. For our Faces of Local interview, we asked him about what led him to farming in Western North Carolina and the organization’s early days. (Read more about ASAP’s history and agriculture in WNC here.) Where were you before ASAP?  I was in grad school in Maine and … Read more

ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talked with Kathy Phillips, who is helping to resettle an Afghan refugee family in Black Mountain, and farmer James Smith of Woven Roots Farmstead (pictured). They connected in order to provide the family with live chickens. Tell me about how … Read more

ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talk with farmers Justin Jones of Alta Vista Farm and Mark Diaz of CrossCreek Farm. Justin moved to Asheville in late 2020 and started farming through the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy incubator program. Mark and his wife, Donna, raise Belted Galloway cattle and hay at CrossCreek … Read more

Emily Jackson, founder and director of ASAP’s Growing Minds program will retire at the end of the year. For our Faces of Local interview this month, we asked her to reflect on her time at ASAP and the growth the farm to school movement over the past two decades.  Can you talk about how Growing … Read more