By Anna Beth Adcock
Find women doing outstanding work in their field via Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, a female-led organization dedicated to fostering a sustainable and fair food scene in the High Country. To do this, the organization bolsters local producers and creates connections among the community that contribute to knowledge and excitement of eating farm-grown food—ultimately upping the local demand and desire for local fare.
With goals to “increase consumer demand for local food, ensure equitable access to high quality local food and provide producers the support they need,” BRWIA offers a plethora of programs—from farmers markets and workshops to mentorship opportunities and grants/scholarships. And the organization serves a slew of counties through the High Country—Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Mitchell, Wilkes, Watauga and Yancey—plus Johnson County, Tennessee.
“There are so many benefits to buying local food,” says Katie Ferrell, BRWIA’s community and relations manager. “When you buy local, it improves your health and it creates a stronger sense of community through knowing your neighbors and helping them thrive.”
Spearheading the significant work BRWIA is planting in Boone and surrounding areas, see Liz Whiteman acting as executive director and raising up the local food system through fundraising, grant writing, program planning and staff supervision. Originally from Minnesota, Whiteman has a background in federal food and farm policy work as well as work on organic farms around the country and the world.
“I spent some time working on a farm in Wilkes County,” shares Whiteman. “I learned I didn’t want to farm as a profession but I wanted to stay in the area and BRWIA was always an organization where I wanted to work.” Whiteman joined the BRWIA team in January 2020 as an operations director, becoming executive director in October 2022. When Whiteman joined the team, the organization only had four employees, but it has since grown into a team of ten (!).
“There is really no typical day at all,” she says of her job. “It’s challenging, rewarding and very public-facing—I get to meet and interact with people a lot.”
To boot, BRWIA has their hands in myriad markets, programs and workshops through the counties it serves… all with a focus on supporting local farmers and creating a craving for fresh, locally-grown and healthy fare. Here, we take a deep dig into what this benevolent organization is up to and how it’s benefiting its community in ways both big and small.
Fodder on the Food Hub
Keeping things fresh for their community, one of the central programs that BRWIA is behind is the High Country Food Hub, a yearlong online market that allows community members to shop for goods (think: meat, dairy, bread, artisan foods, cut flowers, body care products, and plants) and fresh produce from local farmers and vendors. The main appeal of this program is ease and access to local products—once consumers shop goods online, they can go pick it up from a location convenient to them around town—whether it’s the High Country Food Hub itself to the Ashe County Public Library, Blowing Rock Market and a handful of other options. The Food Hub is no small feat—it boasts over 3,000 locally-made or locally-grown products from over 90 local farmers and entrepreneurs.
To back it all up, BRWIA has the numbers to prove how it’s helping grow the love of eating fresh and local in the High Country community. In 2022, the High Country Food Hub generated $859,730 in sales and tallied 558 new local customers. The impactful organization also touted over 5,000 unique goods all produced within less than 100 miles of Boone, with a total of 12,706 orders placed and 100 producers supported in the last year alone through the food hub.
“People can go online and shop like they’re at the farmers market from their couch,” says Liz Whiteman, BRWIA’s executive director. “This was the program that people really turned to during the pandemic when ground beef, eggs and other pantry staples were missing from the grocery store. We saw our sales increase about 500% almost overnight.”
Essentially, the food hub jumped from about 100 customers and about $3,000 per week in sales to over 500 customers and earnings between between $20,000—$30,000 a week.
“My coworkers and I joke that we have no memory of 2020 because we were just working,” Whiteman says. “But it was really great to see the community come out and support each other and support farmers that had previously depended on restaurants and tourists.”
Double the Fun (and Food!)
“A healthy food incentive program that doubles the value of federal nutrition benefits spent at farmers’ markets, helping people buy local food while supporting our local farmers and economy,” BRWIA’s Double Up Food Bucks program is a win-win-win scenario for all parties involved. Local families can access healthier eating options, farmers receive a financial boost and these two perks work together to bolster the local economy.
“The program basically allows those using federal nutrition benefits to double their dollars when they spend them on local food,” explains Whiteman. “That’s another program that has seen really incredible growth in the past three years—which just kind of shows the demand for healthier options for their families.”
Crafting Cuisine
Working closely with the local community and cultivating relationships is a huge aspect of BRWIA’s work. The Blue Ridge Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, or CRAFT for short, is a program centered on creating and nurturing mentorship and relationships between the farmers and growers of today and tomorrow.
“This is basically our producer support program,” says Whiteman. (Cont. on page 53) “We host a pretty wide range of workshops throughout the year for farmers or aspiring farmers.” Discover workshops on soil health, egg grading, innovative ways to feed your chickens (pro tip: use black fly larvae!), growing plants in greenhouses and making your own on-farm compost.
“It’s a really great program that allows us to get out on people’s farms,” she adds. “We pay farmers to host these workshops and the farmer is the expert. We don’t bring in other experts, the farmers just talk about what they do on their farm and people come and ask questions.”
Another perk of this program? Farmers of all levels of expertise and experience are able to relate to each other simply through working in the same profession. CRAFT workshops occur about 12 times throughout the year—though not necessarily on a monthly basis. There tends to be more workshops offered during the off-season aka winter and springtime.
LocalFAM
Local Food As Medicine—dubbed LocalFAM—helps “community organizations provide their neighbors with fresh, nutritious food, supplied by local producers.”… And the best part of the deal? The fare is free for those that receive it and producers are paid in full due to the fact that funding for this program is provided by grants. … And this initiative is especially important because on average, one person out of every six in the area is considered to be food insecure. The idea is based on the thought that all people are entitled to healthy food options—and that food that’s good for you can help treat chronic illness and prevent disease and promote holistic health.
Last year, this program helped put more than 27,000 pounds of fresh food on people’s dinner tables and generated over $98,000 in revenue for 60 farmers/producers while working with eight recipient organizations.
More on the Market
BRWIA is also behind two local farmers markets—the King Street Farmers’ Market—running from May—October on Tuesday afternoons—and the Boone Winter Farmers’ Market on Saturdays from November—March. The King Street Farmers’ Market began in 2017 as a means to make selling goods more accessible to farmers that were newer to the scene and it’s conveniently located next to the Department of Social Services, making it very accessible for those utilizing nutrition benefit plans. Last year, the King Street Market doubled over $3,874 in nutrition benefits—and it’ll be back to continue bolstering the community in 2023.
Digging Into Agriculture Education
In order to foster positive change in the world, BRWIA believes you have to implement and encourage educational opportunities across the board. Just launching this year, the Betsy Lawson Willis Education Scholarship (applications will be accepted starting May 1!) started to honor the heritage begun by BRWIA’s initial leading ladies, women who “believed in the abilities of women to build a stronger, more resilient local food system and achieve meaningful careers in agriculture.”… And that’s something we can all root for.
More Dirt
In a nutshell, BRWIA operates with a mission to build resilient local food systems and channel resources and money back into the High Country community—rather than sending hard-earned dollars elsewhere through spending at corporate grocers such as Food Lion, Wal-Mart or other big bucks chains.
“By providing options and a really convenient way for people to purchase local food, that money stays here in Boone and surrounding areas which contributes to farming being a viable livelihood,” says Whiteman. “It keeps people wanting to farm and steward the land in our community and we think that’s really important.”
Plus, BRWIA has big plans for the future. The organization is now celebrating 20 years of serving the community—and it’s spending the whole year celebrating by bringing back its farm-to-plate dinners and the High Country Farm Tour—which is an annual farm tour that halted operations during the pandemic.
And a special addition for farmers market fans with an appetite for adventure—nab a market passport to document each local market you visit for your products (!) inspired by the 2023 North Carolina Year of the Trail.
Here’s some food for thought: BRWIA depends on local support to continue caring for the agriculture community. From generous donors to its annual fundraising “shindig” gala—hosted at the Apple Barn this year!—the org hopes to raise $20,000 and highlight its founding mothers… a group of women who started the organization 20 years ago on the ideals of sharing skills and mentorship.
Supporting sustainability, healthy eating, local farmers and the High Country community is no small undertaking… and it shapes up society for significant positive impacts.
“It makes a big difference in how people enjoy food, how I enjoy food and it supports people in the community,” says Ferrell. And if the saying, “you are what you eat,” rings true—wouldn’t you prefer to eat fresh and local fare?
Want to keep growing your knowledge of Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture? Visit www.brwia.org
Original Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture
By Judith Phoenix
Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA) is celebrating 20 years as a non-profit organization in the High Country. What started as a group of female farmers sharing meals and best practices at each others’ farms has evolved into an organization that supports all kinds of local food producers and cultivates community connections that educate, inspire, and increase the demand for local food.
Women, as practitioners and advocates of good farming practices, have two early 20th-century pioneers, who are not usually associated with agriculture because of their other accomplishments.
Bertha L Cone is known primarily as the wife of Moses Cone and “the hostess” of Flat Top Manor in Blowing Rock. Dr. Mary T. Sloop was a physician and the founder of Crossnore School.
The purpose of Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture is to strengthen the local food system by supporting women farmers and their families with resources and educa¬tion. These commitments fall easily upon the work of two amazing women. Here is a brief version of their stories.
Photo submitted.
Dr. Mary Turpin Martin Sloop
(1873-1962)
In the 1920s, moonshine was a main source of income for local farmers.
To provide for another income stream, Mary Sloop advocated selling farm crops (corn, cabbage, beans, onions, Irish pota¬toes and sorghum). However, the lack of good roads to transport the crops to market was a major barrier in limiting sales, thus keeping the Avery citizens in poverty and isolation.
But then things changed.
One of the men, Mr. Jim, said to Dr. Mary Sloop, “I made a mistake, I planted too many potatoes.”
Dr. Sloop replied, “That is great. You can sell them!”
The man said, “Who ever heard about anyone who wanted to buy an Irish potato?”
Dr. Sloop replied, “They buy them where I come from, down in Davidson County.”
Mr. Jim said, “I can’t get them there. The roads would tear up my wagon long before I was out of the county.”
Dr. Sloop knew these were good potatoes, but she didn’t know just how good until she contacted the North Carolina De¬partment of Agriculture, which sent a man to Crossnore to evaluate the best crops for that area. The expert from Raleigh spoke at a citizens’ meeting.
“You folks have a gold mine here,” he said. “Right now, the best seed potatoes come from Maine, the only state with farms above 3,000 feet. You have a whole valley floor at 3,200! Why, you could grow the best seed potatoes ever!”
Following his exact instructions, several men raised a plot of potatoes and sent them to Washington, D.C. to be tested. Avery seed potatoes were rated better than Maine potatoes!
Better roads still were required to bring the potatoes and other crops to markets in Boone, Blowing Rock and off the mountain.
Thanks to extensive lobbying efforts by Dr. Sloop, the state government gave $50 million dollars to build a school and roads. Avery County seed potatoes were soon considered to be the best seed potato in the southeastern United States. Raleigh gave additional funds to build two large warehouses for winter storage. The success of the potatoes was followed by beans and cabbage that were sold as far away as Tex¬as and New York. In addition to helping the men learn new farming methods, agricultural classes were taught to the younger boys at the Crossnore School.
The local women also had food needs. An ambitious housewife could put up a hundred cans of beans in a single summer, only to lose 75 percent of them to mold!
Dr. Sloop learned that the women ster¬ilized their jars by putting them on a stick stuck into the ground and allowing the sun to shine through them.
Dr. Sloop arranged for a home economics specialist to come to Crossnore from Raleigh to teach the women about canning.
To preserve food safely, the specialist only needed what every woman already had: flour sacks, a big kettle and plenty of water. The sacks were used for blanching, and the jars were sterilized in boiling water. Excited by their new skills, the women requested the home demonstration agent to teach them cake decoration. Soon, they successfully competed at county fairs.
At age 78, Mary T. Martin Sloop was nicknamed “Grand Lady of the Blue Ridge.”
Bertha Lindau Cone
(1858-1947)
Bertha Cone found herself a widow at 50.
Flat Top Manor in Blowing Rock was a 3,600-acre farm valued at $48,000. She purchased several more tracts of land after the death of her husband, denim magnate Moses Cone. Managing the estate was not a role Bertha had “been groomed for.”
It required maintaining the mansion and out-buildings, constructing and repairing roads and the selling of farm produce. She monitored the behavior of “her” farm labor¬ers, forbidding alcohol and stressing edu¬cation and cleanliness. She developed her agricultural expertise with the help of her foreman and subscribing to farm journals.
She carried on an active correspondence with experts on raising dairy cows, the selection of apple trees and the control of apple pathogens. She served on the committee that planned the first Watauga County Fair and operated Flat Top Estate as a model farm.
Moses Cone was known for his prize-winning apples. To better manage the steep and rugged slopes of the China Apple orchard, Bertha arranged for the construction of an apple narrow gauge tramway. The apples were loaded in wood¬en cars and drawn 1,700 feet downhill.
To further improve agricultural methods, she arranged free training for local apple growers. A state “scientific apple man” demonstrated the best method of gather¬ing and packing apples.
During World-War I, she regularly sent apples to Europe to help feed American soldiers.
In 1913, a carefully designed, 12-stall dairy barn was constructed with milk and feed rooms. The Flat Top Manor Dairy be¬came Watauga County’s first Grade A dairy farm, selling milk to Blowing Rock hotels and Appalachian State Teachers College.
Bertha kept sheep, cattle, horses, mules, chickens and turkeys. Her profit margins were smaller than those of her apple and dairy operations, but she was known for her quality cattle and raised fees from breeding her bulls. Bertha managed the operations for 39 years. She proved to be an excellent financial manager, making the Cone Estate the major economic force in Blowing Rock.
By the 1920s, the four apple orchards had grown from their early mountain ruggedness to beautiful orchards. Other, now mature trees, as well as hydrangeas, hedgerows and rhododendrons at last made the manor house and farm look like a natural part of the landscape, rather than what it had been – an imposition.
In conclusion, two of our High Country women pioneers took an active role in developing and promoting agriculture.
Today, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture represents modern-day women’s efforts to improve the local food system by support¬ing farmers and connecting consumers with local food producers. BRWIA envisions an equitable and sustainable High Country food system where producers are thriving and local food is accessible to all. You can buy local and support these efforts at the High Country Food Hub, the Boone Winter Farmers’ Market, and the King Street Market. In addition, BRWIA offers educational workshops to farmers and provides fresh local food boxes and a local food incentive program for those experiencing food insecurity. Stay tuned for the return of the High Country Farm Tour later this year!
You must be logged in to post a comment.