Growing Local Radio Series

The holiday season is in full swing here in Western North Carolina, and farmers markets are bustling with locals and visitors looking for holiday gifts. We ran into two customers at Asheville City Market who agreed to let us follow […]Read More ▶▶

It’s a chilly winter night, just after dark. Summer vegetables are gone, and the fridge is pretty empty, yet it’s time to get dinner on the table. Rather than rush to the grocery store, you check the pantry to make […]Read More ▶▶

Earlier this fall, ASAP set up a story booth at the Local Food Experience event. We invited community members to stop by and tell us about how local food is part of their lives. We heard from parents, college students, […]Read More ▶▶

Tou Lee stands in the middle of a rice field at Lee’s One Fortune Farm in Marion, North Carolina. He pulls on a glove, runs his hand up the stalk and over the tassel, and shakes individual grains of rice […]Read More ▶▶

Tou Lee walks through the rice field at Lee One’s Fortune Farm in Marion, North Carolina. There was a big storm last night and the bottom of the rice plants are submerged in water and mud. “Be careful where you […]Read More ▶▶

It’s a stunning fall day at Darnell Farms in Bryson City, North Carolina. The sky is bright blue and autumn leaves light up the mountains, but this idyllic morning is far from calm for the Darnell family. More than 2,000 […]Read More ▶▶

Most weeks on Growing Local, we talk to farmers, chefs, and educators who are working to improve the local food system. But there’s another important link in the food chain—the community members who support local food. We wanted to know […]Read More ▶▶

It’s the end of the season at M&M Berry Farm in Henderson County, North Carolina. Mike Pack Junior walks through the rows of dormant blackberry bushes at his family’s farm. “What we’re walking through right now are the canes that […]Read More ▶▶

When apples are abundant in Western North Carolina, it’s time to think about how to preserve the fruit. When stored in a cool, dark place, some apple varieties will stay tasty all winter. Others are turned into juice and ciders […]Read More ▶▶

Holt Orchards in Flat Rock, North Carolina has a legacy worth saving. A brother and sister team, Todd Kirmss and Tracy Cavagnaro, left their jobs in 2009 to come back to the family orchard full-time. The orchard was originally their […]Read More ▶▶