Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project

ASAPs three programmatic areas are the Local Food Campaign, Growing Minds program and Local Food Research Center. The Local Food Campaigns capacity building work gives farmers and buyers skills, tools, resources, and connections they need to succeed. The Appalachian Grown regional branding and certification program certified over 850 farms. Those farms gain access to promotional and packaging materials to identify farm products as certified local. More than 450 partner businesses including grocers, restaurants, distributors, hospitals, colleges, and public schools also participate in the program. Local Food Campaign organizers help make connections between farmers and buyers, share stories about food and farms in our communities, and promote local food where consumers shop and dine. This includes events such as ASAPs Annual Farm Tour and publishing the Local Food Guide, of which 70,000 copies were printed and distributed. The program hosts its annual ASAP Business of Farming Conference, delivering over a dozen workshops to hundreds of participants. ASAP operates a weekly farmers market in downtown Asheville and assists more than 100 farmers markets to understand best practices for management, promotion, and navigation of the regulatory environment. To expand participation in the local food movement, ASAP operates two incentive programs, including Double SNAP for Fruits and Vegetables and a Farm Fresh Produce Prescription program to provide eligible participants with weekly incentives for local fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. In 2024 the program supported farms with relief and recovery resources in response to Hurricane Helene, including offering immediate need funds and and reinstating Appalachian Farms Feeding Families to connect farmers with alternative market outlets.

ASAPs Growing Minds program connects education, health, and wellness programming with local agriculture. This program provides support and resources in order to create healthy food environments and experiences to better the health of all members of our community, including children, their parents, teachers, and school staff. The program provides workshops and other training to educators so that they can integrate local food, healthy eating, and farm-based activities into their work. Implementation is supported through tools, resources, materials, and funds distributed to teachers and community health professionals across the region. This helps to facilitate the creation/maintenance of school gardens, provide cooking demonstrations, support local procurement for classrooms and cafeterias, or take farm field trips. The program facilitates positive local food and farm experiences for thousands of children throughout our service region. Dietetic Interns from partner colleges and universities are trained to implement farm-to- school activities in their future professions. ASAP continued the Growing Minds @ Community Colleges to embed farm to preschool into NC Community College early childhood education programs. Growing Minds co-facilitates the NC Farm to Preschool Network and serves on the advisory committee for the Farm to School Coalition of North Carolina.