Local food on the rise
Last year was a promising year for local food production and farm education in WNC, according to the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. ASAP provided some year-end figures to paint a picture of different milestones and achievements in 2012 and the preceding decade.
• Sales of Appalachian Grown farm products topped $100 million.
• 20,000 school children took farm field trips, cooked and enjoyed local food, and more through ASAP’s Growing Minds Farm to School Program.
Over the last decade:
• The number of local farms selling direct to consumers has increased a whopping 855 percent, from 58 to 554.
• The number of farmers tailgate markets has increased 184 percent, from 32 to 91.
• The number of restaurants sourcing local food has grown 558 percent, from 19 to 125.
