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.
Farm to Institution
About the Program
Hospitals, colleges, universities, and other institutions have the potential to act as community role models for proactive healthy choices. When these institutions feature fresh, local foods and offer food- and farm-related educational programming, we all see the results: improved public health, education, and connection to community, while sustaining our family farms.
ASAP's current Farm to Institution work includes a relationship with University of North Carolina-Asheville (UNCA). In 2010, UNCA's new director of dining services, Alison Fern, made a commitment to get local food into the cafeteria and information about local food out to the students. She hired Jeremiah Jackson as head chef and asked him to work with us here at ASAP. We connected him with Mountain Food Products, a local distributor with a local food program, and the rest, as they say, is history! Jeremiah has instructed Mountain Foods to always give him local produce from certified Appalachian Grown farms when available. And we've created special cafeteria signage to share that information with UNCA students. The result? UNCA's meal "swipes" have almost doubled over last year, without a large
increase in the student body. Jeremiah also credits the increase to staff
that are sure to comment on the fresh, local offerings each day.
As we have done and continue to do with UNCA and other institutions, including Mission Hospital, Park Ridge Hospital, and Appalachian State University, ASAP's Farm to Institution program can help implement local food procurement strategies, as well as offer point of purchase marketing materials for Appalachian Grown products. For more information, please contact Megan Ray.
(The final two documents are from ASAP's 2009 pilot Farm to Hospital program. The program included services such as support sourcing local products, local food cooking classes, wellness programs, field trips, marketing, and promotions for ten area hospitals.)
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.
Farm to Institution 
