To celebrate the bounty of spring + summer produce, we’ve rounded up our favorite ways to eat local. Whether you’re ready to dig in the dirt yourself or you’d just like to get closer to the source with your food, you’ll find options for every season and commitment level.
Bonus: ASAP’s farm tour, now in its tenth year, happens June 23 & 24 and takes participants on a self-guided tour of 20+ Appalachian farms to meet the farmers, buy local produce + more. Tickets are $30 per car.
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🌾Farmers Markets (+ tailgate markets)
ICYMI: Here’s our guide to local tailgate markets, published earlier this spring.
🍓CSAs
CSA =Community Shared Agriculture. Participants buy a farm share, for a full or half season, which they pick up weekly or monthly produce + products. CSA programs allows the farm to offer a competitive because you’re making a long-term investment, however, you have very little control about what shows up in your CSA box because it all depends on farm production + yield. Some CSAs offer farm volunteer opportunities for a discounted share price.
Best for: More adventurous eaters, people interested in trying new ingredients, people who can get creative if the same ingredient shows up for weeks in a row (kohlrabi tips, anyone??)
Although sign-up for many spring CSAs has ended, some area farms are still offering partial season shares. If your favorite CSA is sold out or no longer available, start researching now for next spring, and check back on Local Harvest for fall and winter CSAs later in the season.
Here are a few CSAs with shares still remaining this year –
🍓Hickory Nut Gap Farm | 57 Sugar Hollow Rd., Fairview | 828-628-1027 | Year-round | $75–$125/month | Pork, poultry, beef | HNG offers a Meat CSA, which provides grass-fed, pastured, antibiotic-free + sustainably-sourced meats once. Pickup is at the Farm Store or the North Asheville Tailgate Market (summers only). Members also receive a discount on eggs + additional meat purchases on pick-up day. Protip: You’re going to want to do the soup and bread add-on option, an additional $17.99/month or $108 for the full season.
🍓Flying Cloud Farm | 1860 Charlotte Hwy, Fairview | 828-768-3348 | Spring–Fall boxes + market shares | $100–$525 | Produce | Seasonal veggies + fruits with an option for flower add-on (starts at $200 for the season). Pickup at the farm, RAD farmers market + North Asheville tailgate market. Protip: Market shares, which give you credit for onsite purchase at tailgate markets, are still available for 2018.
🍓Betsy’s Farm | Canton, NC | 828-779-1843 | Year-round | $12/week+ | Produce | Seasonal produce + goods depending on availability. Pickup at several farmers markets; call for details.
🍓Gaining Ground Farm | 298 Sluder Branch Rd., Leicester | Full shares, extended shares for height of season (mid-July–September) + fall (October–Thanksgiving | $82–$525 | Produce | Seasonal produce with options for add-ons including eggs and flowers. Pickup at farm and Montford tailgate market.
🍓The Mushroom Hut at Fox Farm | 54 Labrador Ln., Burnsville | 828-682-1405 | June–November half and full shares| $200–400 | Produce + prepared items | The “Value Added” CSA includes whatever is being produced at the farm, like veggies, fruits, jelly, cheese, eggs, mushrooms + cornmeal. Pickup at the farm. Call for details.
Things can change a lot in the farming world, so bookmark these two great resources for year-round information on local farms, tailgate markets, food co-ops, restaurants sourcing local ingredients + more: ASAP Connections and Local Harvest.
🌿Farm Stands
A great reason to take a drive out to the country, farm stands offer some of the fresh options for grabbing local produce.
What’s available: Seasonal offerings, plus extras like plants, flowers, jams + jellies and other goodies. Payment is often via a cash box, so bring dollar bills in case checks aren’t accepted. Many farm stands are open daily until sundown (call individual farms for details).
Best for: People who want to choose their quantities and types of produce, people who like road trips
There are a lot of farm stands in WNC. Here are a few of our favorites.
🌿Hickory Nut Gap Farm | 57 Sugar Hollow Rd., Fairview | 828-628-1027 | 10 a.m.–6 p.m. daily | Cash, check + card accepted | This farm stand is actually a farm store, featuring HNG’s meats + other area products, with a counter-service grab-and-go deli area for sandwiches and other treats.
🌿Flying Cloud Farm | 1860 Charlotte Hwy, Fairview | 828-768-3348 | Cash box; checks accepted
🌿Ivy Creek Family Farm | 390 N. Fork Rd., Barnardsville | 828-712-4644 | Cash box | The farm stand also includes produce from Dillingham Family Farm and products from Smiling Hara Tempeh
🌿Fogarty Farms | 55 Puritan Pt., Alexander | 919-389-1366
🌿Just Ripe Farm | 1200 Old Hendersonville Hwy, Brevard | 803-429-3943 | 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Wednesday–Saturday
🍇U-Pick Farms
A great way to get involved in local farms, U-pick options charge by the pound–or the pail–for produce like berries + apples.
Best for: Fruit lovers, families, people looking for a day-long excursion
We’ll do a separate roundup of U-pick apple orchards in the fall; for now here are a few of our favorite berry farms.
🍇Cloud 9 Farm | 137 Bob Barnwell Rd., Fletcher | 828-628-1758 | U-pick blueberries starting in June
🍇Zimmerman’s Berry Farm | 2260 Revere Rd., Marshall | (828) 656-2056 | Black raspberries, blueberries + blackberries. Opening late June.
🍇Perry’s Berries | 1136 Browning View Rd., Morganton | 828.432.7631 | U-pick blueberries + special events, including farm tours + hayrides.
🍇The Happy Berry | 510 Gap Hill Rd., Six Mile, S.C. | (864) 350-9345 | U-pick and pre-picked berries, grapes, figs + more starting at $2.75/lb. BYOB (that’s Bring Your Own Bucket, guys) appreciated.
🍇Gibson Berry Farm | 275 Kelley Gap Rd., Greeneville, T.N. | (828) 385-4442 | Pick-your-own blueberries start at $20/gallon. Other produce includes ginger, elderberries + more.
🥕Community Gardens
Try your hand at growing your own produce in a community garden. Typically, garden members work a specific shift and get to take home a portion of what grows, though some community gardens are solely grow-to-donate. Some spots are privately owned, while others are run by the City of Asheville. Many gardens also offer seed share programs, tool libraries + community events.
Best for: People who want to get involved in local community building, people who enjoy gardening or want to learn
🥕Bountiful Cities & Asheville Buncombe Community Gardens Network | (828) 257-4000 | isa@bountifulcities.org | Bountiful Cities lists 30+ community gardens across the city + county. The program links people to local community gardens and provides opportunities for under-resourced community members to access locally-produced food and gain experience in sustainable gardening + agriculture. Each garden has its own main contact person; click through for more details.
Bountiful Cities also runs community events, including plant sales + workshops. They also have a grant program and other support opportunities for community members interested in sustainable urban agriculture (Patchwork Urban Farms, who run a summer CSA, was a past recipient). Want to connect with and/or volunteer for Bountiful Cities? You can write Isa Whitaker (e-mail above) or fill out this volunteer form.
The city also has opportunities for urban agriculture leases, which provide space for community gardens on City-owned property at fair market rates. For more information, contact Amber Weaver (AWeaver@ashevillenc.gov).
My visit to area farms left me with a feeling of gratitude, a deepened understanding of exactly what goes into the food I eat, and a whole lot of produce (and some jam, bacon, bread, locally made soda + flowers…). And although a big move this year made signing up for a CSA impractical, buying a farm share is one of my favorite ways to eat, and it ensures that I have plenty of local veggies + meat in my diet. I’m looking forward to getting one next spring.
How do you source your local produce? And where’s your favorite spot to eat local? Let us know by emailing hello@avltoday, or send us a note over on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I’m just going to be here finishing these strawberries.
