Stephanie Vinat, The AppaLatin Farmstead
The AppaLatin Farm Building
Grant Award: $6,000
In 2020, AppaLatin Farmstead purchased a 10-foot by 24-foot building for the farm and had it wired with electricity. In 2021 with her grant, Stephanie has added water lines from her well, built a wash/dry/pack station and outdoor produce pickup area and will install a walk-in cooler and dry-storage space. Previously she had to transport vegetables and microgreens uphill and across the road to her homestead for washing, drying, packing and storing in her home refrigerator before market.
The new post-harvest system will allow her to increase capacity and expand beyond
her current 1/10-acre of production space (the farm is 6.5 acres). The addition of well water at the farm is essential to health and safety as well as for future plans to build a certified kitchen for producing the farm’s line of salsas, sauces and spice blends.
AppaLatin currently sells from its own farm stand and online store, as well as Asheville area farmers markets, local grocery stores, and farmer cooperatives including Patchwork Alliance and Zadie’s Market.
Contact the Local Extension Agent