Hickory Nut Gap Farms
By Bellamy Crawford
Saturday, February 15, to March 15 is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Month. The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), an Asheville-based nonprofit helping local farms thrive while building healthy communities through connections to local food, is celebrating by promoting local CSA programs. “CSAs work like farm subscriptions, allowing customers to pay in advance for weekly shares of produce,” says Sarah Hart, ASAP’s communications and engagement director. “They help farmers pay for soil inputs, seeds, equipment or other needs before harvest income is available.”
Over the years, CSAs have grown to offer meat, eggs, flowers and other products in addition to traditional fruit and vegetable shares. Many CSAs offer choices for extended fall and winter season subscriptions; small, medium and large share options; online ordering and payment plans.
Encompass Farm CSA. Photo courtesy of ASAP
To help customers navigate the many local CSA packages, ASAP offers an interactive online map with links to nearly 120 farms in its Appalachian Grown Network that offer CSAs as well as holding an annual CSA Fair each spring. “Our CSA Fair provides the opportunity for farmers with a CSA delivery or pickup in Buncombe County to highlight their programs,” says Hart. Details about this year’s fair will be posted on Facebook.
Because of Hurricane Helene, CSAs are more important than ever. Vannah Roddy of Encompass Farm has been an ASAP-supported farmer since 2019. “I started as an urban farm in downtown Black Mountain, growing on a network of donated yards,” says Roddy. “My CSA customers allowed me to achieve my dream of land ownership in 2024.” But in September, because
many left town following the storm, Roddy lost a fourth of her long-term CSA members. “They no longer had homes or jobs to keep them here,” says Roddy, who is actively accepting new members to her year-round customizable CSA share. “Our veggie box is subscription-based with an accessible $30/week billing model, which customers can pause anytime.”
Tiny Bridge Farm in Hendersonville began offering its CSA share in 2019 with a mix of staples and kid-friendly items like lettuce, broccoli, carrots, potatoes and onions. “After living through several hurricane seasons, we shifted our CSA to a 7-week spring share that runs June and July, and we market our fall shares from September on,” says Tiny Bridge co-owner KP Whaley.
Seven Seeds Farm (currently relocating from Burnsville to Marshall) offers three CSA share sizes to meet the needs of differing households. “We are excited about our strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and black raspberries,” says Seven Seeds co-owner Ali Tingley. This year, Seven Seeds’ CSA will also include sweet corn, winter squash, pole beans, melons and eggs, and in the years to come they hope to include apples, pears, cherries, plums and peaches.
ASAP’s offices are located at 306 West Haywood Street in downtown Asheville. Learn more about the many local farms it supports and its programs and services at ASAPConnections.org. Follow on Facebook at ASAPConnections for updates about this year’s CSA Fair.
