Appalachian
Sustainable Agriculture
Project
306 West Haywood Street
Asheville, NC 28801
Voice: 828-236-1282
Fax: 828-236-1280 Email
Us
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project is
a
501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization.
e-Connections: Mar. 09
March 2009
Farm to Hospital Pilot Launched in WNC
Hospitals have the potential not only to treat the sick and injured, but to
serve as community role models for healthy choices. To help hospitals realize
this potential, ASAP is launching a Farm to Hospital pilot program.
The program
will enable hospitals to feature fresh local foods and offer food and farm
related educational programming. Farm to Hospital aims to both improve public
health and sustain local farms.
ASAP will offer services to hospital food service, administration, staff, patients,
and the broader community. The program will include distributing Local Food
Guides to hospitals and support in sourcing local products for cafeterias. ASAP
will also consult on educational programs such as cooking classes and field
trips, wellness programs, and marketing and promotions.
Farm to Hospital services are offered to hospitals across Western
North Carolina, as time and resources allow. Hospitals interested
should
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.
WCQS,
Western North Carolina's public radio station, will host StoryCorps'
mobile recording booth in Asheville from March 26 to May 2, 2009.
StoryCorps
travels around the country to record interviews that celebrate everyday
Americans.
Interviews have been broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition for the past
three
years.
In the Asheville area, farmers are among the
community members being sought to participate.
StoryCorps is the largest
American oral history project of its kind.
The Peabody Award-winning project is in partnership with the Library of
Congress, National Public Radio, and public radio stations nationwide. All StoryCorps interviews are added to the
StoryCorps Archive at the Library of Congress American Folklife Center.
StoryCorps participants also receive a broadcast-quality copy of their
interview on CD at the end of their session.
A facilitator guides the
interview, if necessary, and handles all technical aspects of the recording. Each
StoryCorps interview is allotted one hour of studio time. Approximately 300
interviews will be recorded in Asheville.
WCQS encourages farmers to record interviews, and be a part of StoryCorps'
representation of our area.
Public Reservations for interview slots begin at 10:00am on March 12 at 800-850-4406 and online at www.storycorps.net.
ASAP and Dietitians Offer Kids' Cooking Demos
ASAP and Western Dietetic Association are partnering to provide cooking
demonstrations for kids during March, National Nutrition Month. ASAP is
matching dietitians with teachers who want to offer cooking demos to their
classes, and providing cooking kits, gift cards to purchase local food, and
recipes and tips for classroom use. The dieticians will conduct hands-on
demos using seasonal, local products to build positive associations with
healthy foods and teach kids where their food comes from.
"Kids will eat anything that they
help to prepare themselves, or at least they are very willing to try it," says Emily
Jackson, Program Director for Growing Minds, ASAP's Farm to School program.
"When they cook with fresh, local ingredients, kids realize healthy food doesn't taste bad."
In recognition of Growing Minds' work on behalf of children and local farms,
the North Carolina Dietetic Association's is honoring the program with the
Circle Award for 2009.
Dietitians are conducting cooking demos during National Nutrition Month,
offering special dietary information. During the rest of the year, Growing
Minds organizes school cooking demos by chefs. Brook Thompson, Program
Assistant for ASAP, says, "Cooking demos are fun for chefs, as well as kids.
Volunteer chefs who have led demos in the past want to do it again, and chef
demos can be a great way for restaurants to reach out to the community." Chefs
who are interested in offering demos should
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. Educators who want to learn more about
Farm to School programs should visit www.growing-minds.org.
In the wake of the recent
salmonella outbreak traced to peanuts, there's some encouraging information for
North Carolinians. The North Carolina
Fresh Produce Safety Task Force, formed to minimize food safety risks and
enhance the economic competitiveness of North
Carolina's fresh produce industry, has been working
for almost a year and is well ahead of efforts to address food borne illness in
many other states. Debbie Hamrick with NC Farm Bureau Federation and a member
of the task force, says "I hope North
Carolina's task force will eventually serve as a
model for other states."
The task force is a
partnership between NC State University, NC A&T State University, North
Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Farm Bureau, industry
groups, and others including ASAP. The task force is
working to decrease the risk of food borne illnesses in North Carolina,
training Extension Agents to teach safer practices to farmers through workshops
like ASAP's Fresh Produce Safety Trainings, among other efforts. It's also
establishing a team prepared to respond if food borne illnesses should occur in
the state.
In the event that there
is an outbreak, tracing the illness back to its source and minimizing the
damage is easier with foods from local sources. Hamrick is careful to point out
that illness can be borne by any food, regardless of the size or location of
the farm that produced it. But, she says, "If you buy directly from a farmer, you know the source
and the farmer will have a strong sense of responsibility. What Hamrick calls North Carolina's
"plethora of producers" give us many opportunities to choose food from farms
close to home.
Looking for the weekly Fresh at Farmers Markets update? Find it at FromHere.org, ASAP's new community website, along with other news, photos, local food and farm events, and more. While you're there, join the conversation!
Curious about the difference your donation can make? Here are some examples of what ASAP can accomplish with your support:
-$1,000 helps farmers access new markets
-$500 brings a class of school children to a local farm
-$100 funds a cooking demo on how to prepare fresh foods
-$50 trains a farmer in new skills -$25 provides seeds and resources for school gardens
Click here to give your gift to ASAP today. Or, give on behalf of a loved one and tell the recipient about the good work that will be done in his or her name.
WCQS,
Western North Carolina's public radio station, will host StoryCorps'
mobile recording booth in Asheville from March 26 to May 2, 2009.
StoryCorps
travels around the country to record interviews that celebrate everyday
Americans.
Interviews have been broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition for the past
three
years.
In the wake of the recent
salmonella outbreak traced to peanuts, there's some encouraging information for
North Carolinians. The North Carolina
Fresh Produce Safety Task Force, formed to minimize food safety risks and
enhance the economic competitiveness of North
Carolina's fresh produce industry, has been working
for almost a year and is well ahead of efforts to address food borne illness in
many other states. Debbie Hamrick with NC Farm Bureau Federation and a member
of the task force, says "I hope North
Carolina's task force will eventually serve as a
model for other states."
