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.
Gary Steiner is the co-owner and operator, alongside his wife, Abigail, of Bee-utiful Farm & Garden, nestled in Hendersonville, NC. The couple offers a CSA (or Community Supported Agriculture) program year round, as well as guided farm tours and school field trip opportunities. What are the main benefits of participating in a CSA? A couple
Farmer Holly Whitesides will give a welcome address as part of the 2024 Business of Farming Conference on February 24 at A-B Tech in Asheville. Holly has been farming at Against the Grain Farm in Watauga County, North Carolina, since 2012, alongside Andy Bryant and their three daughters, Beatrice, Corva, and Linnea. Can you tell
Blake Hart is the executive director of Haywood Christian Ministry, a nonprofit organization providing a food pantry as well as heating and housing assistance. The food pantry serves 800 to 850 families each month, offering fresh, local produce in addition to frozen meat, bread, and shelf-stable pantry goods. When did Haywood Christian Ministry first begin
Alison Francis is the Director of Nutrition of Haywood County Schools, and has worked with ASAP for many years to source from local farms. In September she volunteered for ASAP’s Farm Tour at Pilot Mountain Pears, which sold Asian pears to Haywood County Schools this year. For our Faces of Local interview this month, we
In early September, the Asheville Art Museum organized a panel discussion on “Appalachian Foodways” as part of its programming around “The Art of Food” exhibit. ASAP’s communication manager, Sarah Hart, moderated the discussion between farmers Malcolm Banks (of Yellow Mountain Garden in Franklin, NC) and Delia Jovel (of Tierra Fértil Coop in Hendersonville, NC), and
For our Faces of Local interview this month, we talked to Greg Garrison, who owns The Hop with his wife, Ashley Garrison. They source local ingredients from several farms, particularly Lee’s One Fortune Farm in McDowell County, one of the farms featured on this year’s Farm Tour. Visit The Hop for peach ice cream at
Melinda Bullen has volunteered for several ASAP events, including last year’s Farm Tour. For our Faces of Local interview this month, we asked her about those experiences and some tips for Farm Tour attendees this year. What have you enjoyed about volunteering for ASAP? Well, first and foremost, I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to learn
Gray Shipley represents the fifth generation of farmers at Shipley Farms and is one of organizers of Good Fields, An Appalachian Food and Farms Festival, which will take place on the farm in Vilas, NC, on June 24. (He’s pictured with his father and grandfather in 2015.) Good Fields will feature a dozen chefs creating
Vance Goodman is the Benefits Enrollment Specialist for Council on Aging for Buncombe County, one of the referral providers for ASAP’s Farm Fresh Produce Prescription. What do you do at Council on Aging, and how does the Farm Fresh Produce Prescription fit into that? I work within the Benefits Enrollment Center. I help low-income Medicare
Stephen Triplett has distributed ASAP’s Local Food Guide in the community for two decades. You can find the 2023 Local Food Guide at local businesses, community centers, and farmers markets starting May 1. When did you start distributing ASAP’s Local Food Guide? I think it was around 2002, 2003. A friend of mine, Erin Everett,