BARNARDSVILLE, N.C. — Farming during a pandemic presented challenges for the agriculture business throughout the state, but one farmer is optimistic about the future.

Anna Littman is the owner of Ivy Creek Family Farm in Barnardsville, outside of Asheville. She says 40% of her crops are usually purchased wholesale from restaurants, but when the pandemic started, restaurants closed their doors. She lost much of her business overnight.

“Not knowing who our customers were going to be adds to the difficulty of making decisions,” Littman says.

A grant from the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) allowed Littman to save her business.

“ASAP got funding to be able to provide double dollars for SNAP customers shopping at market,” Littman says. “So, the first week the program was initiated, we went from having $10 in SNAP sales to $100 in SNAP sales every week.”

She was also able to create an online store through the grant as well.

Littman says support from communities helped farmers everywhere get through a tough 2020.

“There have just been so many amazing people who have made a commitment to shop local and to support farms, and that’s truly what’s kept us alive,” Littman says.