The 2023 Annual Gathering will feature two options for site visits, offering the opportunity to see impactful work on the ground in the Asheville area. As part of the registration process, select your ticket, and you will be asked a series of supplemental questions prior to completing registration. You must choose only one option. Please note that due to logistical constraints at the locations, all participants will need to arrive on the AFN chartered bus.

Option One: Blue Ridge Food Ventures & BeLoved Asheville

Blue Ridge Food Ventures, whose parent non-profit is the Center for Agricultural and Food Entrepreneurship (CAFE), is one of the largest food incubators in the Southeast, offering farmers, food and natural products entrepreneurs, caterers, bakers, and food truck operators an opportunity to bring their product ideas to market. Through a mix of infrastructure and technical assistance, they help small businesses enter the marketplace by providing a regulatory-compliant production environment, regulatory compliance assistance, product development, training, and consultation. Their 11,000-square-foot shared-use kitchen and natural products manufacturing facility houses an average of 50-60 small businesses at any given time. 

BeLoved Asheville weaves together many community-building efforts and lets residents assume leadership roles. For example, thanks to generous donors and sponsors, BeLoved Asheville is building a village of 12 micro homes to sow the seeds of community, while bringing home our neighbors who’ve struggled with housing insecurity. They also run a street medics program; team members train under an EMT, RN, Herbalist, ER nurse, and others and can provide on-the-spot assessment and first aid on the streets. Addressing food insecurity is another focus area including organizing neighborhood driven farmers markets and a food truck.

Option Two: Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry

& SoundSpace@Rabbit’s

Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM) seeks to address the root causes of poverty, take steps to achieve independent living skills and restore lives in the community. Their facilities and programs include: Transformation Village, Veterans Restoration Quarters, Veteran Services of the Carolinas, and Recovery Living Center. The team, partners, and volunteers build a four-legged stool–work, civic, faith, and health lifestyles–to prepare those receiving recovery services to fully re-enter their communities.

SoundSpace@Rabbit’s is a music rehearsal and art studio facility inside of a 1947 Black-owned tourist court and soul food cafe known as Rabbit’s Motel, in the historically African-American district of Southside, Asheville, NC. It is soon to include a soul food cafe’ and murals project to depict its history and the rich history of Black Asheville. This enterprise is an example of how social impact investments can enable local entrepreneurs to achieve their visions, nurture local arts and culture, and grow in a sustainable way.

Understanding that these nonprofits must prioritize the needs of those they serve, our site visit schedules are subject to change. We appreciate your flexibility should that occur.