It’s no surprise that a couple of educators are behind a local company’s quest to help Upstate and Western North Carolina residents learn about the bounty of our local fields and farms.

Graham and Andrea Duvall, the owners of Asheville-based Mother Earth Produce (MEP), combined to turn their background in instruction—hers in the classroom and in curriculum, his “dug in” to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia—into a company that is dedicated to spreading the good news about the best Mother Earth has to offer. As the company is poised to turn three, it’s on the cusp of a growth curve that will allow the Duvalls and staff to spread the good word about organic and locally-sourced produce to a rapidly expanding customer base.

“We moved to Asheville from Atlanta, both exhausted and ready for a change, and promptly fell in love with the local farmer’s and tailgate markets—but with our schedules, we just couldn’t get to them,” Andrea Duvall says of the company’s origins. “We thought there had to be a delivery service in the area, so we searched, and we couldn’t find one.

“At that point, we went all in. We largely modeled our business and concept on Washington DC’s Hometown Harvest, we both left our jobs, I cashed in my 401K, and Mother Earth Produce was born!”

Nearly three years later, MEP has more than doubled its customer base each year, and conservatively projects at least 30% growth going into year four.

Local and organic produce and edibles delivery company rides a wave of expansion.

“We are honored to be a part of a community that works together to support greater awareness of sustainable values and steps to help each other grow as well as to heal the environment,” Duvall says. “Unfortunately, just as with what happened with us, sometimes hectic schedules and geographic location prohibit many people from visiting farmer’s markets and supporting their local producers. Mother Earth Produce emerged out of a desire to make it easier to eat local and organic food from our neighbors who are producing it—and our intentions have been met with a truly gratifying response.”

“I’ve been so pleased to put my extensive background in horticulture to bear in growing something brand new…a company,” says Graham Duvall. “With Americans’ increased interest in knowing the origins of the food they eat, it’s a great privilege to be able to convey the values of sustainable and responsibly-farmed produce, meats, fish and other edibles, by providing consumers with a choice that offers the ultimate in both convenience and variety. We’re very proud of what we’ve done to date, and of where we’re going.”

Mother Earth Produce currently delivers to customers in Asheville, Arden, Biltmore Lake, Black Mountain, Candler, Fletcher, Swannanoa, and Weaverville, North Carolina; and Greenville, Boiling Springs, Greer, Lyman, Moore, Simpsonville, Spartanburg, and Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina. Routes run Thursday – Sunday, depending on location.

Based in Asheville, NC, Mother Earth Produce (MEP) delivers to customers throughout Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. For more details on MEP, contact Julie Peck at (864) 237-4302, email jpeckmktg@gmail.com, or go to www.motherearthproduce.com