Staff Reports

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s seventh annual Marketing Opportunities for Farmers Conference will be held on February 27, 2010 at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC. The conference supports farmers’ efforts to tap into the growing interest in local food.

In the new global economy, it’s hard for local family farmers to stay in business if they sell only to wholesale markets. Each year, more farmers try new strategies such as vending at farmers markets, selling to local chefs and grocers, and working with distributors and institutional buyers such as schools and hospitals in their own communities. Farmers who have succeeded in these diverse markets, as well as chefs, grocers, and distributors interested in local purchasing, will share their knowledge and network at the conference.

Owner Teresa McAdams - Newman. Photo: Urban News

Staff reports

Our second stop was Natural Solutions, located in the heart of the inner city in the Historic Downtown district of Johnson City – also known as “Blue Plum Village.” Natural Solutions offers all types of hair care services and a full range of manicure services.

Herb Greenlee, Executive Director. Photo: Urban News

Staff Reports

Carver Park is located at the corner of Watauga and Market Streets in Johnson City, Tennessee. The Urban News recently had a chance to sit down and talk to the director of Carver Park, Herb Greenlee, a fit-looking, self-assured gentleman. As Mr. Greenlee offered a tour of the complex, his pride made apparent why he is its director. The facility’s mission is to promote self-reliance and a greater sense of community.

The 17-1/2-acre park is the site for the 16,000 sq. ft.-building, constructed after the original building flooded in 2003. It contains a Medical Tech library room connected to Quinlan Medical School; there visitors can enter symptoms online and receive a diagnosis from the doctors at the school.