Photo in honor of the River Art’s District Farmers Market lost to the flooding of the French Broad River during Hurricane Helene.
As we slowly regain connection and emerge from devastation, heartbreak, and the weaving of our communities and homes back together, one thing is still certain – farmers markets have been and always will be hubs of togetherness, food access, and care for each other.
We are thinking of those markets, vendors, and farmers who have been and still are impacted – we know that nearly everyone in this region has been affected in one way or another. Farmers markets have had to relocate, food producers have lost product and inventory due power outages, and many farms have lost fields, greenhouses, or their entire location due to flooding or storm damage. As restaurants remain closed and crucial income outlets for farmers have been put on hold, farmers tailgate markets are a big way to help keep our local farm and food producers afloat through this uncertain time. Farmers want to feed our communities, and they need our help.
As you may already know, the River Arts District Farmers Market was located right along the French Broad River in RAD and lost everything. According to their recent social media post, “Our beloved home for the past few years has been completely destroyed by Hurricane Helene, along with the rest of the RAD area. There is deep, deep grief in losing the place we filled so vibrantly with community every week. We will miss the kids playing under the big box elder tree, the musicians serenading under the sycamore, the friends meeting up for dinner at the picnic tables, and so much more. There is deep, deep safety and belonging held in the weekly ritual of gathering community around food.” As they are determined to rebuild with serious financial loss, you can support their relocation and rebuilding efforts by using this GoFundMe link.
For the time being, RAD Farmers Market is relocating to the Stein Mart parking lot at 848 Merrimon Ave beginning Wednesday, October 16th from 3pm – 6pm. The North Asheville Tailgate Market will also be at this location (temporarily) beginning tomorrow, October 12th from 8am-12pm. Asheville City Market reopens tomorrow as well in its usual location and usual hours of 9am-12pm. The Black Mountain Tailgate Market remains closed until further notice as the town has sustained significant damage and is not ready to move back into market operations quite yet. You can support the Black Mountain Tailgate Market and its vendors using this GoFundMe link. The East Asheville Tailgate Market is still open weekly on Fridays but with updated hours of 1pm-4pm, until further notice. Both the West Asheville and Enka-Candler markets are open at their usual locations and times while the Weaverville Tailgate Market remains open in their temporary location of Honey & Hive while early voting continues at the community center. All of these markets have expressed having supplies available to all visitors. For the most up to date information, follow along on their social media platforms.
As far as we know, all open markets’ SNAP and card processing machines are working. At participating markets, you can still double your SNAP up to $20 in fruit and vegetable tokens and ASAP’s Farm Fresh Produce Prescription continues. While cooking at home may be harder right now, we are all missing the fresh and delicious produce our farmers have to offer.
If you need support accessing fresh food, Manna Food Bank is popping up at the WNC Farmers Market on Brevard Rd from 11am – 5pm on Monday – Friday and Bounty and Soul per their market schedule here. If you have food and supplies to share, consider distributing those to the Southside Community Farm’s network of free fridges and community pantries listed here.
As demonstrated over and over again in the past two weeks, our region is deeply resilient and caring, and we know many of you have given direct support to farms and others. If you have the means and want to help ASAP continue to support local farms, donate at asapconnections.org/donate.