St. James Episcopal Church in Hendersonville, as part of their ministry outreach program, dedicated the month of September for donations of food to our pantry. We were surprised and delighted when a call was received after only three days of collecting donations. Over 100 pounds of food and produce had been donated. Items were gathered, transported to the pantry, weighed, and placed on the shelves for Saturday distribution.
Read MoreWe are overwhelmed by the support of our community this week. Michael, an Eagle Scout candidate, and his father worked in the perennial garden that he planned and help plant with his troop. On Monday, Chef Martha picked up a sizeable donation from Harris Teeter. On Wednesday, we received a bulk order from Sav-Mor. With the assistance of Todd and his crew and Chef Martha with her team, they transported the items from Hendersonville to the pantry. Items were placed in inventory for distribution on Saturdays.
Read MoreWhat a surprise this week when Brenda from the Society of St. Andrews delivered six boxes of apples that were gleaned from our community. We truly appreciate their time and effort. With produce from the garden, donations from Flavor First and Tractor Farm, our neighbors had a variety of produce for their families. The highlights of the week were the Mini-Love watermelons harvested from the garden and the 150 collard plants that were planted by the Thursday night volunteers. You're welcome to join us! A good time is had by all!
Read MoreThe pantry garden continues to be a valued supplement to our fresh vegetable offerings. Current plantings are now yielding abundant harvests. So far in August the garden has yielded 409 pounds to our current year to date total of 2,389 pounds. Garden volunteers have worked continuously to create this high-quality fresh organic produce. They are rightfully proud of their accomplishments and get positive feelings from being able to offer food that they have produced themselves.
Read MoreGold! Silver! & Bronze! No — not medals from the Olympics in Paris! We.... at the Pantry and Garden hit some milestones too. Our Garden has produced over 2,000 pounds of produce this year. Each Saturday the healthy organic vegetables are distributed to our neighbors. Manna delivered over 9,000 pounds of food this week including frozen meats, fresh produce, and food from The Emergency Food Assistance Program. Items will be offered on Saturday between 8-11 a.m. Our third accomplishment of the week was the new volunteers on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday assisting in the garden and pantry.
Read MoreA special "Shout Out "for our extremely dedicated volunteers who were at the Pantry on Saturday! When 137 neighbors arrived throughout the morning, many of you stayed to ensure all had an opportunity to individually shop for food. An apology for excluding our stats on June 20, however it will show you the difference in what a week can make. June 20 we welcomed 114 neighbors representing 410 household members and ten new families. This past Saturday 137 families representing 504 household members and twelve new families were welcomed. Thanks to the Lords Acre of Fletcher, our garden and Tractor farm's produce, we distributed over 2,000 pounds of healthy produce to our neighbors this past Saturday.
Read MoreWhat a pleasure it was to have youth from Atlanta, Glenn Memorial Methodist Church, spend the morning with us on Tuesday! They are part of the Asheville Youth Ministry experience. The youth picked 100 pounds of produce from the garden. On Saturday, our neighbors will be offered green beans, cherry tomatoes, and yellow squash. Later in the morning they had a tour of the pantry and helped bag the green beans for distribution. They topped the morning off with a picnic on our campus.
Read MoreIt wasn't long ago that a hardy group of volunteers gathered at the garden to remove the rocks and amend the soil filled with clay. Who would have thought that The Lord's Acre of Fletcher, our garden, would be producing over 200 pounds of vegetables each week and over 1500 pounds of produce this season! Squash are harvested just about every other day, along with green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and my personal favorite, perpetual spinach.
Read MoreThe pantry garden continues to be a valued supplement to our fresh vegetable offerings. Current and pending plantings are heralding abundant harvests in the coming months. Including other in-kind contributions, we were able to offer an additional 1,687 pounds of fresh produce in June at no monetary expense to the pantry. So far in July we have harvested 191 pounds of fresh produce with more on the way.
Read MoreJune 22nd and June 29th were busy mornings albeit visiting households were somewhat slightly lower than usual:
June 22 – 109 Households comprised of 418 individuals, 8 new households totaling 29 individuals.
June 29 – 117 households comprised of 404 individuals, 4 new households totaling 10 individuals.
Through May we were averaging 129 households per week; the current average has declined to 126 through June.
Read MoreSummer camp groups are always helpful in the garden as vegetables and weeds grow profusely. Thanks to the Disciples of Christ Church of Lexington, KY working with Asheville Youth Mission and the Service Adventure group from Lutheridge who mulched, weeded, and harvested in the last week.
Read MoreJune 15th was yet another busy morning in the pantry as we served 137 Households comprising 476 individuals. We welcomed 14 new Households having 40 members. Households receiving food so far this year totaled 3,057 comprised of 10,791 individuals. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 24 weeks this year Households served have increased 6% and individual counts within those Households have increased 9% compared to 2023.
Read More"Early birds" get some of the best pictures in the early morning. We are looking for " early volunteers" who can help us on Saturday between 8:00-11:00. We hope you can join us this summer on Thursday nights at 7:00 in the garden or on Saturday morning at the pantry.
Read MoreAs the jingle goes...April Showers bring May Flowers...And 813 pounds of produce from our garden and hoop house this year according to our Garden Master, Doug Kearney. He adds too, that this was accomplished by volunteers who helped harvest throughout late winter and early spring. Thanks to Eileen's carful calculations, she posted on the office door that we welcomed 103 families this week representing 414 household members. Two new neighbor families registered with us.
Read MoreSaturday, May 25th was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 123 Households comprising of 419 individuals. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 21 weeks, Households served have increased 8% and individual counts within those Households have increased 12% compared to 2023. The pantry had an abundance of vegetables to offer last week.
Read MoreSaturday, May 18th was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 133 Households comprising of 479 individuals. We welcomed 4 new Households having 20 members. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 20 weeks, Households served have increased 7% and individual counts within those Households have increased 10% compared to 2023. Our young volunteers Elliott and Amelia Stay were busy going through boxes of assorted food staples and neatly arranging and stacking the products. They even found time for a quick game of frisbee in the parking lot.
Read MoreThis past week was incredibly momentous for the pantry.
On Wednesday (May 8) the pantry celebrated its 15th anniversary with a blessing of the Lord’s Acre of Fletcher and Tierra Fertile gardens, followed by a wonderful dinner with live music. Rev. J. Clarkson gave a slide presentation of the history of the pantry and honored Carol Romine and Lois Pryor. They identified the need in our community and provided the vision and effort to open a food pantry in a small closet space in the Calvary Episcopal parish hall in 2009. The pantry now operates out of a 5,000 sq ft building, “The Center of Hope”.
Read MoreThis Saturday (5/4) was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 127 Households comprising 437 individuals. We welcomed 13 new Households having 30 members. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 18 weeks households served have increased 7% and individual counts within those households have increased 10% compared to 2023.
Read MoreThis Saturday was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 115 Households comprising 420 individuals. We welcomed 5 new Households having 23 members. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 17 weeks Households served have increased 8% and individual counts within those Households have increased 12% compared to 2023.
Read MoreThis Saturday was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 132 Households comprising 469 individuals. We welcomed 4 new Households having 12 members. Through 16 weeks we have served 173 more Hhouseholds and 7,027 individuals compared to 2003. Exciting news – May 8th. Save the date. We will be celebrating two milestones as part of Rogation Day.
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