A Word From Executive Director Blake Hart
It is hard to believe that 1 year ago, we were in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene and the devastation that it brought to our communities. WNC suffered so much loss and heartache during that time that it makes it hard to believe how far we have come.
I personally have tried to go back in my mind and remember those first days and weeks. Working from dawn to dusk making sure that food was available in the entire county; driving from Fines Creek to Cruso and everywhere in between, making contact with partners, understanding what their needs were, and delivering food to meal sites and impromptu pantries; helping network community centers, churches, and all people of goodwill to make sure that everyone was taken care of; connecting with and purchasing local farm food to help our farmers keep their businesses afloat and getting that food into our flood devastated neighborhoods.
It was a time that showed me both the depth of human pain and the heights of human resilience, expressed most fully in community. We survived Helene together.
Since then, so much has changed as we’ve adapted to the realities of hunger and poverty in our communities, some caused by Helene, much preexisting for decades. This year we’ve been able to support…
Over 2,000 households (5,600 people) served through our food pantry. That’s nearly 30% of those facing food insecurity in Haywood County.
The distribution of 100,000 pounds of food each month, ensuring families don’t go without.
Up to 35 partner organizations, with more than 40,000 pounds of supplemental food shared monthly.
60 local farmers like Mighty Gnome Market Garden, Always Love Garden, Sustainabilies, Deal Orchard, 3 Barn Farms, and Shady Brook Farm by purchasing over 140,000 pounds of food. Infusing more than $350,000 back into our local agricultural economy.
We were also able to establish the Smoky Mountain Harvest Hub: A new facility that builds our resilience for future disasters while providing ongoing infrastructure for daily hunger-relief operations, including over 2,000 square feet of cold storage and, coming soon, commercial kitchens
These past 12 months have been a whirlwind, and we wouldn’t have been able to do this without YOU! Thank you for your support, love, donations, volunteer time, and encouragement along the way.
