Melinda Aponte is the nutrition coordinator for the YWCA of Asheville’s Early Learning Program. She’s worked with several local farms to provide the children with fresh, healthy meals daily. She is pictured on the left with farmer Hannah Jeske of R Farm. I’m sharing this recipe because it’s so homey. There’s something about a casserole—lasagna … Read more
In 2018, ASAP presented Healthy Eating in Practice, a national conference for physicians and other healthcare professionals. The conference focused on changing the culture of healthcare to better support healthy eating behaviors. The conference offered experiential farm and cooking education alongside medical expertise. Partnerships and programs formed through conference planning shaped ASAP’s Farm Fresh for Health … 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
ASAP likes to share the stories of people in the community who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talked to Seth Salmon, farmer and owner of Wildwood Herbal. The farm has been providing fresh produce and prepared meals for Meals on Wheels and recently became a partner in ASAP’s Appalachian Farms Feeding Families … Read more
ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talked with Melinda Aponte, nutrition coordinator for the YWCA of Asheville’s Early Learning Program. The YWCA is part of ASAP’s Appalachian Farms Feeding Families program, working with Ivy Creek Family Farm to provide fresh, local produce for the children. She is pictured … Read more
A new group of farmers is sowing seeds in Henderson County, North Carolina. The vegetables, herbs, and flowers they planted this spring are growing alongside their vision for a cooperative farm that fosters social equity and economic opportunities for Hispanic community members. Tierra Fertil Coop began farming together last year, and while the six members … Read more
Community Supported Agriculture, or a CSA, makes eating local food a pleasure of daily life. Throwing together a spring salad with local lettuce, radishes, and snap peas is easy when you stock your refrigerator with a weekly CSA. Community members sign up for a farm’s CSA in early spring. As soon as the crops are … Read more
Frances Juhlin from Candy Mountain Farm remembers the tension of her first career. It was the 1980s in Palm Beach, Florida and Frances was an assistant at a high-powered brokerage firm. “It was so fast moving. Once the markets were open, I couldn’t leave my desk. if you try to run for a bathroom break, … Read more