National Food Systems Conference
The first national food systems conference since the pandemic will take place in Portland, Oregon June 22-24 2025. Entitled “Resilience and Resistance: Cross-Pollinating Food Movements,” this event is hosted by the Institute for Social and Economic Development Solutions’ Community Food Projects technical assistance program. Be a part of this historic event! Submit a proposal to hold a workshop, poster session, affinity group, mobilization session, or lightning talk.
ASAP's Appalachian Grown Gathering
ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) invites you to join us at the table in support of local food and farms. For more than 20 years, ASAP has been creating connections between our region’s farmers, restaurants, and community. Now, we’re celebrating the ways our community has come together to rebuild, grow, and discover our resilience.
Enjoy a tapas-style dinner of four small plates and a plated dessert. Plus, chat with the chefs and farmers that created each dish!
Get your tickets here and contact Nora Scheff (nshceff@asapconnections.org) with any questions regarding this event.
ASAP's Appalachian Grown Gathering
ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) invites you to join us at the table in support of local food and farms. For more than 20 years, ASAP has been creating connections between our region’s farmers, restaurants, and community. Now, we’re celebrating the ways our community has come together to rebuild, grow, and discover our resilience.
Enjoy a tapas-style dinner of four small plates and a plated dessert. Plus, chat with the chefs and farmers that created each dish!
Friday, April 25Yesterday Spaces, 305 Sluder Branch Road, Leicester, NC
5 p.m. - cocktail hour and silent auction
6:30-8:30 p.m. - dinner and program
Contact Nora Scheff (nshceff@asapconnections.org) with any questions regarding this event.
Western NC Farm Succession School
Farmers and farm families across Western North Carolina are invited to take part in the NC Farm Succession School, a full-day workshop focused on helping farm families plan for the future. With over half of North Carolina’s farmers over the age of 65 and the USDA estimating that nearly 70% of farmland will change ownership over the next two decades, many farm families will be facing transition issues in the upcoming years.
The NC Farm Succession School is designed to address key issues in farm transitions, including family communication, retirement planning, long-term care, and estate planning. Offered by NC State Extension, the workshop provides participants with practical tools and guidance to ensure their farm’s legacy is preserved and successfully passed on to the next generation.
Western NC Session
Date: March 27, 2025
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: WNC Regional Livestock Center, 474 Stock Dr, Canton, NC 28716
Registration: $25 (Includes lunch)
Register Here: go.ncsu.edu/farmlegacy
Space is limited. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights and strategies for securing your farm’s future. For additional details, visit the registration links above or contact Stephen Bishop, Western Director of NC FarmLink, at (704) 472-4365.
Seeds for Success! A Lecture on Seed Sovereignty
Preservation of heirloom seeds helps to ensure future generations maintain a reliable food supply, supports financial self-reliance, preserves agricultural heritage, and reflects cultural traditions. This half-day workshop on the practice of seed saving will be led by Chris Smith from the Utopian Seed Project and Mary Thompson from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Attendees will hear an introduction to Seed Saving and how to increase income from seed sales and will experience a demonstration of Utopian Seed Project’s Mobile Seed Processing Unit. Mary Thompson will share her seed-saving experience, related pottery, and issues surrounding tribal food security and sovereignty. Presenters will also cover Technical Aspects and Considerations of Seed Saving, Implications of Climate Change on Seed Saving, and Enterprise Budget Development for Profitable Seed Saving. This half day workshop is open to any interested gardeners and farmers hoping to learn more about the significance of seed saving and how they can get involved.
OGS Spring Conference 2025
Join the Southeast’s largest gathering of farmers, gardeners, and sustainability advocates at Organic Growers School's (OGS) 2025 Spring Conference! This year’s theme, Resilience, Recovery, and Renewal, focuses on building stronger, more sustainable communities. Highlights include: 🌱 32+ workshops across 8 tracks (Gardening, Soils, Mushrooms, and more) 🌱 New tracks on off-grid systems, mutual aid, and resilience practices 🌱 Inspiring expert speakers like Dan Brisebois, Pam Dawling, and Chris Smith Special Features: Community Room, exhibitor hall, Southeastern Seed & Plant Exchange, and delicious local meals. 🎟️ Early Bird Deal: 50% off weekend and single-day passes! Register now: organicgrowersschool.org/spring-conference
Food Truck Boot Camp!
March 10-13 Food Truck Boot Camp What: Food Truck Boot Camp. Four days of Food Truck how-to's, including budgeting, menu design, fire safety, how to work with the Health Department, social media marketing, and field trips to see food trucks and commissaries in action. Who: The Street Food Institute and EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems, and Eastern Band of Cherokee Division of Commerce When March 10-13 Cost: $150-200, including lunch and dinner, hotel block has been booked Registration- Space is limited to 40 participants, Registration Food Truck Boot Camp, Registration includes three lunches and two dinners
Register at https://sequoyahfund.wufoo.com/forms/q65xv1c0re55sr
or call Laura: 919-444-4245
Farm Soil Recovery, Post Helene
An information session on understanding the ways in which to recover and improve your agricultural soil after the flooding from Helene
Forest Farming Tour
Join us for this rescheduled agroforestry tour at Banks Mountain Forest Farm in Hendersonville. Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc at the 37-acre property last September, with some stands losing 70%. Hear from the intrepid farmers who are rewriting their forest management plan, and working with their logging horse team to salvage merchantable timber.
Bob and Stuart Richens will lead a 1-mile walk through their diversified operation, where they raise goats, hogs, chickens, mushrooms, Fraser fir and Norway spruce Christmas trees, boutique timber, and two rare breeds of farm dogs. Learn from their adaptive approach at this unique and beautiful mountaintop farm.
Registration is free but required. Please cancel your reservation if you are unable to attend to allow space for others.
Please contact Mary_Bulan@ncsu.edu with inquiries.
This is part of a series of Agroforestry Tours supported by NC State Extension, the Edwards Mother Earth Foundation, and the ARK Exchange network.
This tour is organized by Jeanine Davis’s NC Alternative Crops and Organics Program, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University, based at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River, NC.
Find our more about our research and extension program: www.NCHerb.org
ASAP Business of Farming Conference
The annual Business of Farming Conference brings together professional farmers from across the Southeast region to network and share resources to grow their farm businesses. Farmers learn about marketing, business planning, and financial management from regional experts and innovative peers. The conference is designed for beginning and established farmers as well as those seriously considering farming as a profession.
Growing Minds Farm to School Training
Growing Minds Farm to School Training
February 19, 2025 from 3:30-4:45pm join the Growing Minds program for an introduction to Farm to School. In this virtual training you will learn about the different components of farm to school, hear how you can use our toolkits and resources to support your farm to school goals, glean insights from farm to school champions in our region, and brainstorm activities to get you started. All are welcome no matter what age you teach or what your experience with farm to school is!
How to Start a Co-op & Buy Land as a Community
Many people dream of community, but it feels like an impossible task. Either they wonder how they can get from not owning land to being able to afford it, or perhaps have a group but aren’t sure how to move their project forward, or may be own land have have tenants but struggle with the dynamics of being a landlord in a community.
Learn what you need to know about how to go about it, and get a list of 10 practical steps to making it happen!
In this class we’ll have a brief review of legal structures for land stewardship and community-owned community projects, and then dive into a practical overview of how to bring a collective land project from vision to reality. We’ll also have space to discuss some of the challenges and developmental edges of the changing space of collective ownership and management.
Catholic Charities MANNA Express Market
A free food and personal hygiene product distribution event scheduled in the twelve western counties (1Xmonth) in partnership with MANNA and local volunteers/agencies/churches. April 18, June 13, July 11, Aug 8, Sept 12, Oct 10, Nov 14 from 3p-6p. Sylva, Robbinsville, Hendersonville, Candler, Asheville, Candler, Hendersonville. Email jdboeckermann@ccdoc.org for more info!
39th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference
CFSA’s Sustainable Agriculture Conference, 39 years strong, brings together farmers, food systems changemakers, and community leaders from across the Carolinas for a weekend of learning and community focused on advancing local, sustainable, and organic agriculture.
The conference features practical workshops, an expansive trade show, and plenty of networking opportunities, all curated with the rich, diverse food systems landscape of the Carolinas in mind. Connect with our community of farmers, foodies, educators, activists, and community leaders through this unique, authentic celebration of innovation in local, sustainable agriculture – you’ll walk away inspired, with new farming and food systems tools in your toolbelt, and maybe even some new best friends.
Cheesemaking and Fermentation Weekend
Join Soirée-Leone to explore how fermented foods are important to our health and wellness, both on a personal and community-wide scale. The workshops are designed to help you integrate these skills into your everyday life with a deep knowledge of the process and ingredients. Saturday’s “Introduction to Cheesemaking” will cover cheesemaking in the home kitchen and participants will take home a small feta cheese to finish and enjoy. Sunday’s “Introduction to Vegetable Fermentation” will cover a variety of fermented foods and participants will start sauerkraut to take home and enjoy!
NC Center for NonProfits Conference
The 2024 Conference for North Carolina’s Nonprofits is designed to offer strategies, experiences, and connections that are valuable for every nonprofit staff member, board member, volunteer, and supporter.
Join the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits on October 22-23 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Research Triangle Park to connect with nonprofit colleagues, learn from experts and practitioners, and share insights that will recharge our work and our sector.
Organic Weeds Management w/ Mary Carroll (Red Scout Farm)
A FREE webinar series led by local farmers and agricultural resource specialists. Growers will gain the tools to manage soil health, weeds, pests and diseases for the whole farm. Participants will also gain insight into considerations for Organic Certification. Each session will center around direct experience in the field from organic growers of different scales.
Trial to Table - Utopian Seed Project
Our Trial to Table events are a chance for us to showcase crops and varieties from our farm trials via the talented hands of local chefs. We challenge our chefs to be inspired by our farm trials and to be creative with their dishes. The food is always delicious and our hope is that you experience something new and begin to rethink what our regional food system can offer.
Catholic Charities MANNA Express Market
A free food and personal hygiene product distribution event scheduled in the twelve western counties (1Xmonth) in partnership with MANNA and local volunteers/agencies/churches. April 18, June 13, July 11, Aug 8, Sept 12, Oct 10, Nov 14 from 3p-6p. Sylva, Robbinsville, Hendersonville, Candler, Asheville, Candler, Hendersonville. Email jdboeckermann@ccdoc.org for more info!
Organic Plant Disease Management w/ Steve Beltram & Danielle Hutchison (TendWell Farm)
A FREE webinar series led by local farmers and agricultural resource specialists. Growers will gain the tools to manage soil health, weeds, pests and diseases for the whole farm. Participants will also gain insight into considerations for Organic Certification. Each session will center around direct experience in the field from organic growers of different scales.
Encouraging Mushroom Production within a Forest Ecosystem at The Forest Farmacy
Tour The Forest Farmacy to better understand how to propagate and expand the forest production operation, including a tour of the mushroom spawn and grow rooms. Participants will work on observing and deepening awareness of mushroom and mycorrhizal forest systems and cultivation techniques, specifically using wood chip beds and logs for mushroom cultivation, and will inoculate a log to take home.
Fiber Festival - Old North Acres
Join us on Sunday, October 6th, from 12-4PM for an afternoon on the farm as we celebrate our twice-annual sheep shearing! Live shearing and fiber demos (think hand spinning, knitting and more), a farm tour, and a farm to table lunch!
Organic Pest Management w/ Tom Elmore (Thatchmore Farm)
A FREE webinar series led by local farmers and agricultural resource specialists. Growers will gain the tools to manage soil health, weeds, pests and diseases for the whole farm. Participants will also gain insight into considerations for Organic Certification. Each session will center around direct experience in the field from organic growers of different scales.
Farm Dreams: An Online Workshop for Aspiring Farmers
Dreaming of starting your own farm? Farm Dreams is an entry-level evening workshop designed to help people who are seeking practical, common-sense information on sustainable farming and how to move forward. This is a great workshop to sign up for if you are in the exploratory stages of starting a farm.
RAFI's Come to the Table Conference
Food, Land & Sacred Stories.
The Come to the Table Conference is hosted by the Come to the Table Program of the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI). Under the leadership direction of Executive Director Edna Rodriguez, RAFI challenges the root causes of unjust food systems, supporting and advocating for economically, racially, and ecologically just farm communities. The mission of the Come to the Table program is to empower faith communities to participate in the creation of a just food system through collaboration, capacity building, and advocacy.
Westival - Fundraiser for 12 Baskets
FUNDRAISER TO CELEBRATE WEST ASHEVILLE FOOD AND COMMUNITY
A new event showcasing West Asheville food will occur at Archetype Brewing on Saturday, September 28, from 4-8 pm. “Westival” is a fundraiser for 12 Baskets Cafe and the work of Asheville Poverty Initiative (API), and will allow participants to sample from over 10 West Asheville-based food businesses.
Organic Soil Management w/ De'Anthony Price (Rodale Institute)
A FREE webinar series led by local farmers and agricultural resource specialists. Growers will gain the tools to manage soil health, weeds, pests and diseases for the whole farm. Participants will also gain insight into considerations for Organic Certification. Each session will center around direct experience in the field from organic growers of different scales.
ASAP’s Annual Farm Tour
ASAP’s annual Farm Tour is a chance to experience how food is grown and raised through guided tours, demonstrations, and tastings. The Farm Tour showcases the diversity of working farms in Western North Carolina, including vegetables, livestock, vineyards, orchards, flowers, fiber, and more! This is a family-friendly event and a great outing for visitors of all ages, abilities, and interests. All are welcome.
Resourceful Communities - Grassroots Convening
The theme for this year is Resiliency in Rural Communities. Join us for this day and 1/2 convening as we empower participants to confidently engage in climate resiliency discussions in their communities, adapt or translate their current work to align with climate goals, and access resources to support their efforts.
If you are an engaged member of the RCP network, we hope you will join us!
Reminder, everyone who registers is expected to participate in all the programming.
$50 DEPOSIT WILL BE REFUNDED TO YOU AFTER ATTENDING THE CONVENING!!
Registration ends September 11, 2024.
Trial to Table - Utopian Seed Project
Our September Celebration will take place at Ivory Road, South Asheville, NC.
Ticket price includes two small plates from each chef (8 plates total). We’ll also be running a Utopian Seed Project tasting table to show off some of these ingredients in their pure form. A note on pricing transparency: we want these events to be as accessible as possible and so have a flexible pricing policy, if you’re able to pay more than $50 then great, if you can’t then that’s great to.
Sow & Grow Fest
This family-friendly event celebrates Western North Carolina’s vibrant food and farming community with live music, plant and seed sharing, gardening activities, and a community potluck with foods from our local farms highlighted! You can rank the most delicious tomato with tomato tastings and enjoy local vendors, craft beverages, and fun family activities.