May 3, 2023

Going once, Going twice.........ooops you might have missed it if you weren't on the campus of Calvary Episcopal Church last week.  The community turned out daily between 9-4 to donate lots of treasures — from a Barbie house, Instapot, golf clubs, a bunk bed, books, linens, a bicycle, wreaths, framed and unframed art,  seasonal decorations, sets of china and flatware, a kayak complete with oar and life vest,  and three pick-up truck loads of flowers from Van Wingerden, International. Folks were lined up in the rain on Saturday well before the doors opened. Volunteers scurried in and took their posts and began welcoming shoppers. By 2:00, the Calvary Disciples, and parishioners from  St. James Episcopal Church in Hendersonville, packed up the few remaining items to take to their church Thrift Store. Thank you Lois and the Team for such a successful sale. Funds raised on Saturday will provide about two weeks of food for our neighbors.

Meanwhile the sun and rain have helped the garden flourish. On Thursday afternoon, volunteers rolled up their sleeves and planted the rest of the raised beds in the hoop house with tomatoes, cherries, jalapeños, and peppers. On Friday morning , volunteers received the fresh milk, eggs, and produce and placed in the coolers while others were stocking the shelves with donated and purchased items.  Bill, from WLOS, met Chef Martha in the garden for videoing segments of the Carolina Kitchen. Mouth watering bread pudding, tasty mini corn street tacos, and delicious green pea potato salad were prepared on location. Christ School students volunteered with shopping and carryout on Saturday along with new volunteers Karen, Maggie, and Yvonne from Deerfield.

Notice how yummy the collards look in the background. On Saturday we welcomed 129 families representing 448 individuals and registered 14 new families. City Bakery donated loaves of bread. Other donated items were from Bright Farms -lettuce, Ingles, Panera, and Bimbos-snacks and bread, Wal-Mart and Big Lots - misc items, Flavor-First - tomatoes and peppers, and MilkCo-milk.  Other produce this week included onions, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes.

On behalf of the executive committee, thank you to our volunteers and our area churches, civic groups, local merchants, and families for all you do to feed our community helping to reduce food insecurity. We thank you for your food and monetary donations.  We are able to feed our neighbors 3 and 1/2 days of food or 11 meals.