Polanco brings a fresh take on Mexican fare to the former Vincenzo’s space. Also, Warren Wilson College hosts the Regional Food Waste Summit, White Labs Kitchen & Tap opens on South Charlotte Street, chocolate comes to The Collider and Abby Artemisia hosts a workshop on foraging.
Hunger Action Month brings a fresh-produce hub for Haywood and Jackson counties, an expansion of the MANNA Packs for Kids program and a new initiative that engages tourists in raising funds to alleviate food-insecurity in Asheville and beyond.
Double D’s Coffee and Desserts invites the community to be a part of its latest renovation project. Also in this week’s food news, Sunny Point Café hosts a benefit dinner for FEAST, Farm to Fender celebrates its grand opening and Seasonal School of Culinary Arts announces a week of classes with local celebrity chefs and authors.
Although it never made it into the approved budget, a provision included in North Carolina’s spending plan this spring calling for statewide cuts to food assistance had WNC hunger-relief organizations on high alert.
Supported by local churches and the Asheville-based MANNA FoodBank, the Leicester Community Welcome Table served almost 10,000 meals last year, delivered about 80 meals a week to shut-ins and generated more than 4,500 hours of volunteer labor.
The Cantina at Historic Biltmore Village is vying for a $100,000 grant that will allow it to expand its Skip a Meal program statewide. Also: Rhubarb hosts its third FED Talk, a winery passport comes to Asheville, and MANNA introduces its Table for Three raffle.
A new program spearheaded by the Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council gives SNAP users more spending power when purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables grown in Western North Carolina.
Funds from Town Mountain’s four previous benefit concerts for MANNA FoodBank have covered the cost of an estimated 25,000-30,000 meals, according to the band. The fifth iteration takes place at The Grey Eagle on Friday, Dec. 16.
River Arts District Artists partners with MANNA FoodBank and Ingles for a canned food drive. Also, Highlands Food and Wine Festival celebrates its 10th year, Addison Farms Vineyard launches a wine club, the West Asheville Tailgate Market holds a Caribbean soul food supper and a new Mediterranean restaurant will open soon in the former Chorizo spot in the Grove Arcade.
MANNA Express began last fall with deliveries of fresh produce, baked goods, dairy and meat going out to a handful of partners and agencies in Buncombe County. In the past few months, the program has stretched outward to all 16 counties that MANNA serves.
MANNA FoodBank prepares for its largest fundraising party of the year, the Blue Jean Ball; David Meesters leads a class on healthy digestion at Villagers; Arancini makes another transformation into an Italian Sub spot; and Gaining Ground Farm and Yesterday Spaces host a dinner experience to benefit the GO Kitchen Ready program.
On May 2, MANNA FoodBank welcomed Hannah Randall as its new CEO. Randall joins the organization after having served in a variety of roles with other nonprofits, including the Animal Protection Society of Person County, Carolina Cross Connection and the Lincoln County United Way. “Her commitment to the wellbeing of the greater community is obvious in everything she does, […]
A great gray army is at work throughout Buncombe County: retired people donating their time to groups of every stripe. This unpaid workforce brings with it a wide variety of life experiences, but its members have remarkably similar goals: to forge connections and make this community a better place, finding meaning through giving back.
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.
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.
Smiling Hara Tempeh is bolstering its partnership with Whole Foods with the release of a new heat-and-eat product line in addition to opening a new factory; winter farmers markets are kicking off in Western North Carolina; MANNA FoodBank warehouse is sporting a new roof, thanks to several local businesses; and PennyCup Coffee Co. has a new downtown store.
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.
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.
With its upcoming Appalachian Food Pantry School, the WNC Food Policy Council will provide much-needed training, tools and resources to Western North Carolina’s hunger-fighting organizations.
For MANNA FoodBank’s 16th annual Blue Jean Ball, held Saturday, June 6, tables were lined up side-by-side to serve dishes from Biscuit Head, Tupelo Honey Café, French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Asheville French Quarter and many more.