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.
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Stephen Dobyns has written 20 novels and more than 10 volumes of poetry; however, he is difficult to “classify.” His writing is praised by big league names as varied as Francine Prose and Stephen King, but he is most famous for a “sexual harassment” charge brought against him while he was teaching at Syracuse University (allegedly, he was overheard making “salty and crude” comments at a party).
