Asheville Strong has launched Feed Our City, a program that will contract with local restaurants to provide up to 1500 meals per week during the winter for Buncombe County residents in need. Asheville Strong will purchase meals from local independent restaurants and distribute them to shelters, community centers and drive-through “pop up” sites. The program will not only alleviate some of the county’s food insecurity but it will also provide jobs and business stability for the partner restaurants and keep dollars within the community.
Cúrate staff preparing meals at La Bodega by Cúrate. Photo by Cúrate
The program is inspired by models like World Central Kitchen’s #ChefsForAmerica and Rethink Food. “We studied the way the World Central Kitchen program was built, and wanted to be able to expand it to help more restaurant workers and people in our area,” says Katie Button of Katie Button Restaurants, one of the program’s first restaurant partners.
“Asheville Strong was the key to bringing that to life. It would be incredible to see this program grow within our community, and serve as a guideline for other cities.”
The Feed Our City program was an early goal of Asheville Strong, a nonprofit established in March 2020 to help local, independent businesses survive crises like the pandemic. “This program has been in the plans since pretty much the beginning,” says Catherine Campbell, founder and board president of Asheville Strong. “We attracted funds to seed the program and kicked off officially in October, even though we had been planning it for months prior. The program is primarily funded through individual donations while we seek grants and other funding sources in the months to come.”
Brandon Amico (Feed Our City program coordinator, left) and volunteer (right) at Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. Photo courtesy of WCRM
Restaurants are being onboarded one at a time and the current partnerships include Cúrate/La Bodega by Cúrate, which is donating 600 meals to Haywood Street’s Downtown Welcome Table; Biscuit Head, which is providing 150 breakfasts to Homeward Bound; and Twisted Laurel, which is providing 300 meals to Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. The goal of the program is to feed a minimum of 35,000 people in Buncombe County over the course of six months. The program’s founding donor has pledged to donate $100,000 in a $1 for $1 match campaign, so Asheville Strong has a fundraising goal of $200,000, which will fully fund the first phase of the program. “We will be assessing the program early on, seeing where we can improve or reach more people, and planning for the next phase,” says Campbell. “Basically, we want to be there as long as restaurants and people need us.”
For more information, visit AshevilleStrong.com/FeedOurCity.
It’s wonderful what you’re doing
and the goal of feeding 35,000 people certainly is just amazing.
In the feature article it shows all this wonderful food being placed in tin containers with lids. Foil of any kind is not recyclable in Buncombe County. In six months 35,000 containers will go into a landfill plus all the plastic utensils. We must think if the planet as well! How can this be sustainable? We have to look for other alternatives instead of a one time use and then tossing it away. I don’t know what the solution is (certainly not styrofoam either). I commend you for what your doing for those who truly need sustenance. I am just adding additional food for thought.
Hey, Dannie. I do know that when Haywood Street Congregation (part of this effort) transitioned from its usual Welcome Table meals to an all take-out format back in the spring (due to Covid), they started using biodegradable boxes made from sugarcane, as well as compostable trash bags. I’m sure that it added to their costs, but is an excellent example of environmental stewardship AND helping out our neighbors! It’s a shame that such choices aren’t as cheap as the un-friendly alternatives. Perhaps one day …