Could Punxsutawney Phil, infamous ground hog, have a cousin residing in the pantry garden?! Alas, a mesh collard cover blew off one of our raised beds where a groundhog enjoyed a tasty buffet. Our Garden Manager, Doug, always has a backup plan. Collards have been replanted and the cover secured. Some of you may wonder why the one collard left looks so healthy…we have a drip system in place.
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hanks to the Thirteen Thursday volunteers who assisted in planting 400 collard plants in the Lords Acre of Fletcher. What an incredible evening, planting collards in the raised beds in the garden and the hoophouse while a gentle breeze, a comfortable temperature, and peaceful conversation circulated among the planters. Hold that thought......Sunday morning our collard covers were strewn hither and yon. Doug sent an SOS memo out and we are thankful to the group of people who helped retrieve the covers for us and secured them once again over the tender collard plants.
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They're back....COLLARDS! With Daylight Savings Time, the opportunity is here to join others to assist in planting 200 collard plants this Thursday afternoon (3/13) at 4:30! Hope you can join us with others from our community for planting and fellowship.
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Donations! On behalf of the Pantry, many thanks for the donations we receive every day in our Pantry lobby! You – our community – are what help make our Saturday distributions so successful. Last week, Sammy from the Fletcher community drove a truck to our loading dock filled with cases of water and Emergency Food packets, boxes of mixed can foods, personal care products, baby wipes, and pet food. Special thanks to our volunteers who answered the call to help unload the items, sort them and stock the shelves.
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With the anticipation of spring on the horizon and the Lenten roses emerging at our homes, the pantry was filled with the aroma of Chef Martha preparing three tasty food entrees. You can view them and find the recipes by watching the Carolina Kitchen on WLOS. A taste and recipes are available for "neighbors" -- Pasta with Peas, Wilted Spinach Salad, and Carolina Bean Dip.
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MANNA...we can only imagine their many challenges since Helene. Manna deliveries began bi-weekly in January delivering food items and TEFAP, and initiated a new operating system for purchasing. Manna's new ordering system allows us to view the item we are receiving. Pictures of the front and back of cans can be viewed allowing us to view the nutritional content.
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It was another busy Saturday morning at the pantry. On February 8th we served 129 households comprised of 480 individuals. We welcomed seven new households and 28 new individuals. Even though it is winter, the pantry garden is still producing hardy plantings in the hoop house. This Saturday we were able to offer freshly harvested carrots to our visitors. These were actively embraced by fresh produce lovers. Lord’s Acre volunteers are currently doing new plantings in the hoop house. We’re looking forward to additional varieties soon.
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It was another lively and uplifting Saturday morning at the pantry. Even though it is winter, the pantry garden is still producing hardy plantings in the hoop house. This Saturday we were able to offer freshly harvested “perpetual” spinach to our visitors. This item was enthusiastically embraced by produce lovers. Kudos to our Lord’s Acre Garden volunteers.
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The pantry continues to be blessed by many dedicated volunteers. Their generous gift of the many, many hours they give is invaluable. We are grateful for the Tuesday “Manna Delivery Day Crew,” the Friday “Shopping Preparation Crew, “ the dedicated “Lord’s Acre Gardener Crew,” and the Saturday “Shopper Assistance Crew”. Thanks to each volunteer! We gained Elise and Margot as new volunteers this Saturday.
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Egg Cartons"!!! Never thought we would be asking for cartons. The news is heart "breaking" and this is no "yoke." Martha, our food purchaser was submitting our weekly order for milk and eggs only to find there were no eggs available. Many places have a two dozen limit if you can find them. The sleuth that Martha is, she located thirty dozen but that would mean if you use last week's number of neighbors, 103 families would not have received eggs. The search continued and we were able to get enough from a nearby restaurant for this week.
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Back to the Pantry for our first time in 2025! AND Back to second semester for the school year! What would a new year be if we didn't offer School Supplies to prepare for this semester? Lois has been collecting school supplies all fall and filled tables in the gathering room with backpacks, books, paper, pencils, crayons, glue, and the list goes on...Lauren and Lois spent the morning distributing items to all families with school age students.
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From the garden last week, our last harvest for 2024 provided 41 pounds of carrots. This brings our total for the year to 4,388 pounds. That is about a 25% increase from 2023, of 3600 pounds. Chef Martha connected with the WLOS Carolina Kitchen today for a videotaping and used some carrots from the garden for her carrot salad. She also prepared tortellini with broccoli and stirred up a warm cabbage soup.
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Look who dropped by on Pantry "Eve" Night......The Food and Toy Elves! With 114 households on Saturday, December 14, our Pantry was maybe as busy as Santa's Toy Shop. Lois has been accepting donations for our Toy Distribution for a year. Many donations came from our community and the Hendersonville Apple Valley Woodworkers. Neighbors selected toys and then shopped for groceries. The 114 households represent 454 individuals and nine new families.
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Holiday Cheer is rampant at the Pantry! Lois and her sister prepared tables filled with decorations, bows, and wrapping paper for our neighbors. Items, neighbors selected, will be useful as the coming week is our toy distribution. What a surprise it was for one neighbor to receive a 7 foot pre-lit tree! The Apple Valley Woodworkers of Henderson County invited our pantry to receive some of their handcrafted wooden toys.
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Cashiers and Minnesota are two words that describe seven of our volunteers last Friday. Lisa, from Cashiers, contacted us about her family from Minnesota helping in the pantry on Friday morning. They wanted to give back by volunteering. She described them as strong and able-bodied with good hearts. They worked diligently in most areas of the pantry from produce, to dairy, stocking the shelves, and breaking down the boxes. Friday afternoon, a couple from New Bern brought a pickup truck filled with clothes, lap quilts, pillow cases, and several large boxes of beanie babies.
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"Who Needs a Hand Warmer?" A chilly November Pantry morning did not deter our volunteers from distributing turkeys and 10-pound bags of potatoes into the shopping carts of our neighbors as they exited the building. They had just finished shopping for items to compliment their Thanksgiving meals including stuffing, green beans, rolls and butter. Creesman Orchard donated apples to accompany the meal. A "warm" thank you is extended to all our carry out crew!
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"Roll Up Your Sleeve!" Pharmacy students from UNC-A volunteered this past Saturday to offer Blood Pressure and Blood Glucose screenings. The students are part of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy campus in Chapel Hill. Both screenings are available to all our pantry "neighbors" and volunteers. We are so appreciative for the mornings they are able to spend with us.
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Enjoy your fresh vegetables," our produce volunteers chanted on Saturday morning! Carrots, Collards, and Bok Choy were all harvested from the garden on Thursday afternoon and offered to our neighbors on Saturday. Bright Farms', organic lettuce, Flavor First tomatoes, and a variety of fruit were available too. Thursday afternoon, a team from Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church, Baskerville Food Pantry and the Blessing Box drove from Pawley's Island, SC pulling a U-Haul trailer filed with food and supplies.
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This past Saturday, the pantry was filled with neighbors and volunteers including nine students from Christ School. Not only did our neighbors leave with a shopping cart filled with their personal food selections but also were offered warm hats with matching gloves. We welcomed 95 neighbors representing 373 individuals. Nine new families joined us shopping for 3 1/2 days of food or 11 meals.
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What a blessing it was to be able to staff the pantry for four days a week to distribute food to our neighbors. Over 484 families received food representing 1,811 individuals for the month of October. Our shelves were full because of the generosity of our community, donations from many areas in our state, and SC, PA, LA, TN, VA, GA. This week Feed & Seed donated food items and East Grove Church in Franklin, PA. via Ox Creek Community in North Buncombe.
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