John Fleer

Chef John Fleer is the owner of Rhubarb and Rhu as well as Benne on Eagle restaurants in downtown Asheville. He has received five James Beard Award nominations and numerous accolades. He is a long-time champion of the farmer and independent producer and has helped put many of them on the map. He is one of the most generous souls you’ll ever meet. 

Dan Murrey

When he’s not creating something delicious in his kitchen for family and friends, Dan is Chief Medical Officer for Surgical Care Affiliates and President of Optum Specialty Practices. He is former CEO and spine surgeon at OrthoCarolina in Charlotte, NC. He is the founding board chair of the Seventh Street Public Market in Charlotte and current board chair of the Piedmont Culinary Guild.  He also grew up on a farm in Middle Tennessee and has hauled his share of hay. Dan is an avid cook and advocate for local agriculture and independent restaurants.

 Aaron Grier 

Aaron and his wife Anne Grier own & run Gaining Ground Farm, a 70-acre organic family farm in Leicester, just outside Asheville. The farm grows food for restaurants and sells through tailgate markets and a CSA program. They grow vegetables with the health of the environment & consumer in mind and have been doing so for over 20 years. They love what they do.  

Elizabeth Sims

Another founding member of Equal Plates Project, Elizabeth is a marketing communications professional with her own writing and consulting business in Asheville, NC. She worked for The Biltmore Company for 18 years before writing three nationally published cookbooks for Tupelo Honey Café, where she oversaw marketing for the restaurants. She is a former board member of the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association and former Board President of the Southern Foodways Alliance. She also serves on the board of Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity.  

 Gretchen Brown

Gretchen Brown is a Clinical Social Worker and Clinical Addiction Specialist in private practice in Asheville.  She holds a Bachelors in Elementary Education from Warren Wilson College and a Masters in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Prior to starting her own psychotherapy practice, Gretchen has worked as a hospital, school and community based social worker with youth, families and adults. Gretchen has lived in Asheville for over 20 years and feels a deep connection to the people and land of Western North Carolina. Gretchen is dedicated to serving the members of the Asheville community and believes that healthy, accessible food is a fundamental right of every person.

Kay West

Kay West has been a professional writer and journalist her entire career, starting in New York City, then Nashville, and since 2019 in Asheville. She has written for local, regional and national publications and authored five books. She been an active volunteer for numerous non-profits, organizations, political groups and agencies, including serving ten years on the board of the Nashville Farmers’ Market, and is currently on the Community Advisory Board of Blue Ridge Public Radio and long-time volunteer in the Southside Kitchen. She loves baseball and loathes beets.