ABCCM Loaves & Fishes food drive underway through March

Press release from Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry

ABCCM’s Loaves & Fishes Food Drive is underway during the month of March, collecting food and donations for families in need. ABCCM is partnering with the over 300 local churches to fight hunger in our communities.

ABCCM Executive Director, Rev. Scott Rogers, stresses that inflation has taken a toll on area families. “Due to the rising cost of everything, the need for food has been even greater, some estimates are around 30% higher,” he says. “Having gone through the holidays and winter, March typically finds us with supplies in our pantries at ABCCM’s Crisis Ministries at their lowest. After providing 68,438 food bags last year, and 21,967 since Thanksgiving, our cupboards are low. Can you please help us make sure no one coming to us hungry is turned away?”

ABBCM asks that when shopping in the month of March, please remember these families who are choosing between gas, food, or medicine, and are working multiple jobs just to get by. Put these families on your grocery shopping list by purchasing three of your favorite items – one for you and two for others – and dropping them off at your church or ABCCM’s Ministries or Clinic.

Here are the drop-off locations:

  • Crisis Ministry Sites:
    24 Cumberland Ave., Asheville
  • South- 10 Buck Shoals Rd., Arden
    North Samaritan – 403 Weaverville Rd., Asheville
    Hominy Valley – 1914 Smokey Park Hwy., Candler
  • Medical Ministry (Clinic): 155 Livingston, Asheville
  • Transformation Village: 30 Olin Haven Way, Asheville
  • Veterans Restoration Quarters: 1329 Tunnel Rd., Asheville
  • Recovery Living Ministry (Costello House): 141 Hillside St., Asheville

Can’t make it to the drop-off points? Make a donation online, and ABCCM will fill in the gaps in the pantries where they are needed the most. Click the link to make your donation,

ABCCM is volunteer-led, and is always in need of volunteers. If you would like to  volunteer, click this link.

More About ABCCM

ABCCM is a church-owned and volunteer-driven by 300+ churches of all denominations and other faith groups.  Through the work of volunteers serving as missionaries from those churches and the community; our ministries listen to each person. We offer grace, mercy and lovingkindness which leads to effective short-term and long-term solutions.

ABCCM has a great stewardship track record where 94¢ of every dollar donated goes into direct ministry to people in need, compared to the national average of 75%.

Loaves and Fishes: Thanks to the gifts of food, clothes, furniture, household items, medicine and volunteer time, every dollar given is multiplied, which adds $2.77 in direct help and services.

ABCCM offers dignity to all individuals and families in crisis regardless of race, religion, sex, nationality throughout Buncombe County North Carolina.

ABCCM Crisis Ministry – four locations

ABCCM Crisis Ministry served an average of 21,500 over the last three years, filling the gaps for families who cannot make ends meet, mostly by providing food and clothing along with nutritious emergency food boxes/bags. Emergency assistance funds provide utility assistance to keep the lights and water on; and rental assistance to help prevent families from eviction.  ABCCM Sonrise Daily Bread provides hot meals from 11:30 to 1:00, Mon-Fri. at 1543 Patton Ave.  The Crisis Ministry helps our neighbors meet the basic necessities of life.

ABCCM Medical Ministry

ABCCM offers the only free clinic so the uninsured have access to medical care, dental care and medicine.  Those without insurance of any kind are served by two pharmacies that distributed about $2.7 million in prescriptions and about $2.8 million in medical/dental care, for an impact of $5.5 million in health care in Buncombe County.

ABCCM Jail Ministry 

ABCCM Jail Ministry has trained chaplains who volunteers with Bible study opportunities in the Buncombe County Detention Center.  On average there are 450 detainees behind the walls right in the heart of downtown Asheville.  Volunteers also organize a library cart with paperback Bibles, religious materials and other books.  Chaplaincy services offer comfort, peace and hope with detainees when families call about the deaths of loved ones and other tragedies and a wide range of other meaningful support for detainees, sheriff’s staff, and clergy in the community.

ABCCM – Transformation Village

ABCCM provides 100 beds of transitional housing and 6 beds for emergency shelter.  Transforming lives is through four developmental phases called Steps to Success.  These include stabilization with all the basic necessities provided; life skills training with many volunteer courses per month to choose from including Bible studies; education and professional training certifications that lead to living wage jobs; and reintegration that leads to permanent housing. We are honored to report that 8 out of 10 leave us with a living wage job and permanent housing.

ABCCM – VRQ (Veteran’s Restorations Quarters)

ABCCM provides 160 beds of transitional housing and 40 beds for emergency shelter and 50 units for permanent supportive housing for a total of 250 beds.  Restoring lives is through four developmental phases called Steps to Success.  These include stabilization, with all the basic necessities provided; life skills training, with many volunteer courses to choose from including Bible studies; education and professional training certifications that lead to living wage jobs; and reintegration that leads to permanent housing. We are honored to report that 8 out of 10 leave us with a living wage job and permanent housing.

ABCCM – VSC (Veterans Services of the Carolinas)

Serving Veterans with Hope, Healing, Honor and a Home.

ABCCM VSC provides services for Veterans and their families within all counties in North Carolina. ABCCM VSC offers Veterans Employment and Training Services (VETS) where 450 are trained and 80% are placed into living wage career level jobs.  The VSC programs prevent homelessness for about 320 Veteran families a year. Veterans HOPE program outreaches to connect with the chronically homeless.  Veterans Call Center responds to 2000 crisis calls a month, bringing resolution to most cases within 4 – 6 days.  VSC is launching a new program to bring awareness and address veterans’ suicide with the implementation of community crisis response teams.

ABCCM – Recovery Living Ministry at Costello House

ABCCM provides men with a safe place to heal, develop life skills including recovery living strategies, good education and living wage jobs that lead to a permanent home. The Costello House campus offers a model of intentional community that brings true life transformation through spiritual formation with best practices in healthy emotional and recovery processes.

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