Local resident Austin Brown reflects on his volunteer work with Bounty & Soul.

Local resident Austin Brown reflects on his volunteer work with Bounty & Soul.
Since COVID-19 emerged in early 2020, local nonprofits dedicated to meeting the needs of food insecure citizens have been engaged in what feels like an endless game of Whac-A-Mole, no sooner subduing one obstacle before another rears its menacing head.
The inaugural Mighty Four Miler race in Waynesville raised $6,860 for the Riley Howell Foundation Fund, which makes grants to organizations that support victims of gun violence. Plus, grant opportunities, leadership changes and news of note among area nonprofits.
The initiative has identified six strategies: healthy food distribution, community gardens, agriculture networks, food waste, cooking and nutrition education, and the development of a regional food council.
Handmade skirts highlighting locally grown foods, a new homegrown delivery service from Nani’s Rotisserie Chicken, a class on country winemaking, local nonprofit news and more.
Proceeds from local ceramicist Libba Tracy’s series benefit Bounty & Soul and the Black Mountain Center for the Arts.
The impacts of COVID-19 on demand, supply and distribution for local hunger relief organizations were immediate and profound, thrusting MANNA FoodBank and its smaller partner agencies into a triage response.
Old Fort resident Tracy Rhodes started her self-care journey at Bounty & Soul’s weekly market in Black Mountain.
PubCorps, a new local nonprofit, launches with a volunteer event at the Asheville Masonic Temple. Also: Metro Wine hosts a Spanish tapas dinner; The Bountiful Bonanza of Bitters comes to Villagers; Looking Glass Creamery leads a cheese pairing event; and plenty more in this week’s Small Bites.
According to Feeding America, 20 percent of the more than 46 million people who access the organization’s national network of food banks each year are part of households that include someone who’s served or is serving in the U.S. military.
MG Road kicks off the holiday season with a Christmas cocktail pop-up. Plus, a new food entrepreneurship center is planned for the WNC Farmers Market, Villagers announces its impending closure and more local food news.