As the events of 2020 have made the need for human connection more acute, we understand that the desire for the Food & Farm Forum is ever stronger; its usefulness more apparent. And yet we know we cannot simply move our Food & Farm Forum onto Zoom; we have to completely reimagine and reconfigure the [...]
** CLICK ON THE ISSUE "TITLE" (Year and season) to open the full PDF! ** ** Clicking on the image will only open an enlarged version of the image. ** 2020 SUMMER (click title to open PDF) COVID-19 Brings Widespread Disruption, and opportunities for Building Community Resilience ASAN offers COVID-19 Relief Funds for Farmers and [...]
With support from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, ASAN is offering mini-grants to farmers and farmers markets in Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Blount, and Walker Counties, to cover costs associated with adapting to COVID-19. These mini-grants -- averaging $500 or less -- can cover the cost of safety and accessibility upgrades, as well as any adaptive [...]
Central Alabama CRAFT Network What is CRAFT? CRAFT stands for Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training. The original CRAFT network formed in upstate New York as a way to provide diverse on-farm training and a shared social network for farm interns, apprentices, and employees. The model has been replicated in many other places, and adapted [...]
Thurs Dec 5, 2019 - Field trips Fri-Sat Dec 6-7 - General Forum sessions Camp Beckwith, Fairhope, AL QUICK LINKS: Registration form (includes lodging reservation) Youth Food & Farm Forum details Supplemental forms for youth participants: DOC format or PDF format PROGRAM: Click here for the overall Forum schedule. Click here for a [...]
Friday-Saturday December 7-8, 2018 (Pre-Forum session Thurs Dec 6) Camp McDowell Nauvoo, AL QUICK LINKS: (see details under the respective headers below) Registration form (all ages) Lodging reservation form Youth Forum additional required forms, in DOCX format (click to download) Youth Forum additional required forms, in PDF format (click to download) Scholarship application form [...]
ASAN's annual series of Regional Food & Farm Forums will convene farmers, gardeners, community leaders, and good food advocates to “cross-pollinate” and learn from one another, in four locations around the state (see below). ABOUT THE REGIONAL FORUMS: The Regional Forums are training and networking events that bring together small-scale and sustainable farmers, gardeners, community [...]
This is the full-length version of an article that appears in the Fall 2016 issue of the ASAN Update, our quarterly print newsletter. Question 1 appears exactly as it does in the newsletter. Question 2 appears in this blog post with additional details that were cut in the newsletter due to space constraints. This is [...]
One of the most common types of questions we get is along the lines of: "Where can I find {farm product} near where I live in {town} ?" It's exciting to hear these questions, because it means that customers are wanting local food! Between 2010 and 2013, ASAN produced several [...]
ASAN members Jesie and Matthew Lawrence, who own Marble Creek Farmstead in Sylacauga, have recently purchased a majority share in a USDA Inspected processing facility in Pell City. The facility is currently open and processing swine, beef, goat, and lamb, both under USDA inspection as well as under custom exemption. Matthew and Jesie, along with previous owner Bruce [...]
