GREENLIFE ASHEVILLE VISITS HICKORY NUT GAP FARM AND SUNBURST TROUT FARM

ASHEVILLE, NC - Here at Greenlife we are truly dedicated to offering our customers as many high quality local products as possible. Along with this dedication is the passion for sustainable practices in the methods of food production and we are lucky to be surrounded by a community of farmers who share this passion. We recently had the pleasure of visiting two of the staple local farms in WNC - Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview, NC and Sunburst Trout Farm in Canton, NC.

Hickory Nut Gap Farm:

Located in Fairview, NC - just 15 minutes from Asheville - Hickory Nut Gap Farm is a 600 acre, family operated, farm producing grassfed beef, grassfed lamb, pastured pork, pastured chickens, free-range eggs, apples, and raising horses. Hickory Nut Gap Farm LLC, the farming operation, is owned by John and Annie Ager, and Jamie and Amy Ager. We offer the full selection of Hickory Nut Gap beef and pork products in the Butcher Shop. We also serve Hickory Nut Gap Pork in our deli, and as of this week our sliced Roast Beef is exclusively produced by Hickory Nut Gap. You will find Hickory Nut Gap eggs in our Dairy section whenever they are available. We commend the Agers and the staff at Hickory Nut Gap for their dedication to sustainable practices and their role as stewards of our precious land.

Jamie gave us a great tour of the farm last week! We got up close and personal with the pastured hogs, sheep, chickens and cattle, all the while being treated to Jamie's seemingly never-ending knowledge and understanding of biodiversity, herbivores, and their relationship to each other. It was a truly educational and inspiring experience-Thanks Jamie!



Sunburst Trout Farm:

Sunburst Trout farm is located at the foot of the Shining Rock Wilderness and the Pisgah National Forest in an area famously known as Cold Mountain. This family owned and operated farm has been in operation since 1948 when Dick Jennings decided to drop out of Yale University and move to his grandfathers land in WNC. The farm is now operated by Sally and Steve Eason (Sally is Dick's daughter) with the help of their sons, Wes and Ben and their wives Lila and Anna.

Lila gave us a royal tour of the entire facility last week. We arrived in time to see the processing of the whole trout into the boneless fillets you see in our fish case, the smoke house where the delicious jerky, smoked trout, cold smoked salmon-trout, smoked trout dip, and smoked tomato jam are made, and the raceways where the trout are grown. The folks at Sunburst are dedicated to being environmentally responsible and we feel lucky to have such a great resource right in our back yard!