MANNA FoodBank will deliver its millionth weekend food pack to a local student; Table will explore the many Mexican moles at an upcoming dinner event; Medea’s Espresso & Juice Bar is offering a fermentation workshop; and an A-B Tech culinary arts graduate is advancing to a national-level competition.
Although Asheville City Council approved a 14-point Food Action Plan three years ago that included a goal of implementing underutilized city-owned land for agricultural purposes, to date little headway has been made in that area.
Tom Whittington is gearing up to launch his annual Chiropractic Opportunity Week — a community-wide event anchored by a food drive that the East Asheville chiropractor has hosted for 20 years.
Although chronic homelessness has been curtailed substantially since 2005, the combination of a severe economic downturn, an acute shortage of affordable housing and the rising cost of living has hindered the overall progress in eradicating homelessness. Despite those setbacks, partners in the project are forging ahead with new initiatives to combat housing insecurity and ensure that those in need of shelter get it.
Now in its second year, Bountiful Cities’ Put Your Hoe Down fundraising event on Saturday, Dec. 5, will feature food by celebrated local chefs, cocktails, live music and dancing.
Robin Reeves is the sixth generation to grow up on her family’s Madison County farm — a lineage that dates back to before the Civil War. Reeves spent much of her youth helping her parents raise cattle, burley tobacco and tomatoes as well as her extended family in Sandy Mush. As an adolescent, she sold […]
MANNA FoodBank erected a 10-ton structure of food donated by Ingles Markets for its annual kick off to the holiday season. Click through for a photo gallery from Pat Barcas.
The American chestnut tree’s flavorful nuts were once a vital part of the diets of humans and wildlife alike in Western North Carolina. Its importance is remembered in the traditional foods of the Cherokee, and the nearly extinct tree is slowly making a comeback with the help of some dedicated locals.
The iconic community-owned food market and grocer has announced initial plans to expand its current space on the 60-100 block of Biltmore Avenue and is reaching out to community organizations and the city of Asheville to begin discussions on the possibility of a massive multiuse facility.
From improving food access to supporting urban agriculture, the six Asheville City Council candidates shared their views on local food issues at a recent forum hosted by the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council.
More than 60 volunteers donned aprons and converged on the UNC Asheville campus Friday morning in an effort to prepare hundreds of nutritious, fall-themed meals for local people in need.
With her new book, Asheville farmer, butcher, chef and teacher Meredith Leigh explores what a more humane and ethical food system might look like and examines the crucial role consumers play in efforts to change our foodways.
Even in Foodtopia, hunger is a big problem. Last year, MANNA FoodBank alone distributed 15 million pounds of food through 248 agency partners in 16 counties in Western North Carolina. Just more than 100,000 people were served from MANNA alone, in about 40,000 households.
With an upcoming forum for Asheville City Council candidates, the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council hopes to make food insecurity one of the front-and-center campaign issues.
Often considered a weed, locally prolific lambsquarter is actually a highly nutritious wild edible that we can harvest for free in our own backyards.
Making a living as a farmer is tough anywhere, but it’s particularly true in the North Carolina mountains. Western North Carolina lost 18 percent of its farms — more than 2,800 — in the 15 years between 1997 and 2012. And the majority of existing WNC farmers today are nearing retirement age — many of them without heirs who plan to keep the farm going.
Charitable organizations, food pantries and community gardens are working hard to combat hunger in WNC. And at the heart of those efforts, are hundreds of committed volunteers.
The Organic Growers School’s second Harvest Conference on Saturday, Sept. 12, offered 26 workshops focused on fall and winter growing, cooking, fermentation and preservation, self-reliance, herbal medicine and homestead skills.
Asheville restaurant owners are known for their willingness to step up and give back to the community through fundraising events. But The Cantina at Historic Biltmore Village has established an ongoing giving program that regularly contributes impressive amounts of money to support local hunger-relief efforts.
With one in six people in Western North Carolina lacking consistent access to food, MANNA FoodBank and its partner agencies are uniting to host hunger-awareness events and initiatives in September for national Hunger Action Month. MANNA also hopes to wrap up its Space to Erase Hunger capital campaign this month, allowing for crucial expansions to the organization’s capacity that will impact hungry families in 16 counties.
