Asheville/WNC Resources and How You Can Help!
To the Network:
In the wake of the devastation from Hurricane Helene, Community Food Strategies is supporting the relief efforts in ways that are most true to the folks in our Network – those close to the ground doing the community based work of feeding and organizing their people – and to our values.
We are holding our partners and friends in WNC in solidarity as they find ways to hold and manage grief and loss in the wake of Hurricane Helene and start to understand what’s next for themselves and their community. Here is a list of resources our partners in the West are recommending to offer support/solidarity.
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- Asheville/WNC Resources Doc (updated often)
- WNC Resources by County – Need Help and How to Help sections available (updated often)
- If you would like to receive daily e-mailed notes fromMDC and NCVOAD with the most relevant information, you can fill out this short form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCIDR-Membership.
- We want to appreciate and uplift the first responder organizations – organizing, collecting, and distributing the vital life saving support and supplies to help folks get rescued, find shelter, connect with family, and stay as well as possible during recovery. We know folks are working tirelessly and appreciate all that is being done.
If you would like to donate financially, we encourage you to consider grassroots organizations that are on the ground, with the relationships and context, directly helping those in need. Some of those groups include:
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- Vecinos – Yancey & Mitchell Counties
- Black in Boone
- Immigrant Justice Coalition – Boone
- Hood Huggers & Peace Gardener
- Equal Plates Project
- Poder Emma
- Beloved Asheville
- Centro Unido
- Colaborativa La Milpa
- Tierra Fertile
- Haywood Christian Ministry donation page – They are buying food from farmers at wholesale rates / fair market value who have food that is safe to sell
- Manna Food Bank – MANNA feeds over 27 counties in WNC. Their warehouse was destroyed, but they have a space from which they are working.
The Western Regional Gathering is still planned for Nov 19th & 20th.
Partners in the West are hopeful that the event can still happen and that it can offer a space for connection and collective organizing especially in light of the devastation of so many in this community. We will also be gathering on Oct 16th outside of Greensboro with folks from the middle part of the state. This is another space to be in person and organize towards support for resilience across our regions.