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Starting this spring, Asheville will have a new destination for local food shoppers. The Asheville City Market will be a weekly, producer-only farmers’ market, to be held downtown at the Public Works building.
The Asheville City Market aims to feature 50-100 vendors, selling everything from farm goods such as produce, cheese, eggs, and meats, to handcrafted gifts and baked goods. “We are still accepting vendor applications,” said Market Manager Mike McCreary. “40 vendors have applied to date, and more than 100 have inquired, but we have space left.” Vendors located within 60 miles of Asheville have priority, and vendors can sell only items they grew and/or make themselves. The Asheville City Market will be an outdoor event on Saturday mornings from 8-1 p.m. April 19th is opening day. “Farmers’ markets around the country are growing in size and success,” said Peter Marks, Program Director for Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP). “This new market will give Asheville a thriving new destination for locals and visitors alike, while offering another sales outlet to help some of our region’s thousands of area farms to make a living.” At the February 19th City Council meeting, city staff reported the signing of an agreement with ASAP to site the market at the city-owned property, located at 161 S. Charlotte Street. “The City Market has been a strategic goal of City Council to help support local agriculture and crafters, and the City is very excited about the growth of this project into a regional destination that will be another reason people love Asheville,” said Sam Powers, Economic Development Director for the City. “It is also an example of how the HUB project has facilitated collaboration between many organizations to help bring this project together.” The agreement culminates a 3-year, farmer-led process of identifying a location for the market and planning its operation, a process aided by funding from the Janirve Foundation, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, and the Community Foundation of WNC. Interested vendors should apply before March 17th in order to allow time for application processing before opening day. Information is available on ASAP’s website at www.asapconnections.org, or by calling the Market Manager at (828) 348-0340.
ABOUT THE APPALACHIAN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PROJECT
(Images provided by the North Asheville Tailgate Market.)
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