Appalachian Grown™ is ASAP’s certification program for food and agricultural products grown or raised on farms in Western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Grown logo identifies local food and farm products to help consumers make informed buying choices. The program is open to farms, tailgate markets, and partner businesses such as groceries, restaurants, wholesalers, and artisan food producers.
Become Appalachian Grown (and Get in the Guide)
Appalachian Grown participants receive a free listing in ASAP’s online Local Food Guide. Review the eligibility criteria below, then register your farm, market, or business as Appalachian Grown by creating a listing. There is no cost to participate in the Appalachian Grown program at this time. After initial certification, all farms and businesses must annually renew certification by updating the Local Food Guide listing. Renewals can be completed online or by calling the ASAP office.
Appalachian Grown Region
The Appalachian Grown region is made up of the 60 counties located roughly within 100 miles of Asheville, NC, the market center. As of 2023, there are around 800 Appalachian Grown farms.
Smoky Mountains, NC: Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain
Southern Mountains, NC: Henderson, Polk, Transylvania
Central Mountains, NC: Buncombe, Madison, Yancey
Foothills, NC: Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Rutherford
High Country, NC: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes
Georgia: Fannin, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Lumpkin, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, White
South Carolina: Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg
Tennessee: Blount, Bradley, Carter, Cocke, Greene, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Monroe, Polk, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington
Virginia: Carroll, Grayson, Scott, Smyth, Washington, Wythe
Eligibility
Note: After reviewing the eligibility requirements, you may register your farm, market, or business by creating a listing in the online Local Food Guide.
Farms must be located in the Appalachian Grown region and be a family farm—one in which the family holds the financial responsibility, takes the risk, and provides the majority of the management decisions for the farm. The individual applying for certification must be the farm owner or manager. (View Producer Certification and License Agreement.)
Tailgate markets can also be certified if they are located in an Appalachian Grown county and the majority of the vendors at the market are farmers selling products they have raised on their own farms. (View Tailgate Market Certification and License Agreement.)
Businesses (groceries, restaurants, distributors, processors, artisan producers, etc.) that have made a commitment to source and identify local foods may become Appalachian Grown partners. (View Handlers License Agreement or Processors License Agreement.)
Appalachian Grown Logo & Branding
Logos: All Appalachian Grown participants may use the Appalachian Grown logo on websites, print, packaging, and other promotional materials. Request a suite of hi-res logos for digital and print by completing the form below. Download the Appalachian Grown Marketing Guide for more information.
Packaging materials: ASAP offers a bulk purchasing program for Appalachian Grown–branded packaging materials.
Promotional materials: Window decals and other printed promotional materials for partner businesses are available for free or for print pricing. ASAP can also provide digital Farmer Profiles to highlight farms on social media, websites, or emailing marketing.
Appalachian Grown Logo Request
The Appalachian Grown logo is a trademark of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP). To protect the integrity of the logo and the local food market, producers and retailers must comply with certain logo-use restrictions and sign a binding License Agreement. The requirements and agreement are meant to protect the logo and state that it may only be used to represent food and agricultural products grown or raised by Appalachian Grown certified farms. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the License Agreement will result in your business’s immediate termination from the program. You will lose the right to use the Appalachian Grown logo and related promotional materials.