From the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, shared Jan. 4:

ASAP’s Get Local initiative, which highlights one local food every month, will shine the spotlight on three new ingredients in 2012: ramps, mushrooms and potatoes. Local favorites like tomatoes and apples remain on the new calendar, along with honey, which gets the new year off to a sweet start.

To celebrate January’s focus, Laurey’s Gourmet Comfort Food—an Appalachian Grown Partner and Get Local participating restaurant—will host A Taste of Honey on Jan. 26 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event will feature tasting stations of local and regional honey and accompanying hors d’oeuvres. At each station, attendees will be asked to record their honey thoughts to possibly be used in Every Third Bite, the forthcoming book from Laurey’s owner Laurey Masterton. Honey experts and producers will also be there to talk about beekeeping and their products. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at the eatery in Asheville. A portion of event proceeds will support ASAP.

Participating restaurants will feature honey, as well as sorghum, on their menus throughout January. Local honey and sorghum can be purchased during the winter at select area groceries, as well as direct from area farms. Visit ASAP’s Local Food Guide online at buyappalachian.org to search for producers and year-round roadside farm stands.

What else is new for Get Local in 2012? Special monthly events will continue throughout the year as part of Get Local’s makeover. Events can be found on ASAP’s community website, FromHere.org, as well as their social media sites. ASAP has also produced a 2012 Get Local wall calendar that features beautiful images of the featured foods taken at tailgate markets and farms. The calendars are free and available at ASAP’s office and events.

For more information about the initiative, including the new 2012 schedule, visit the Get Local page of asapconnections.org. There, you’ll also find the 2012 Get Local school calendar.