Steady State performed at Blue Ghost Brewery on Saturday, March 2. Proceeds from the Fundraiser were shared with the Pantry and Cancer Society. What a great evening to spend with our community friends and enjoy some fellowship time too! On Monday, two of our house carpenters, Jack and Kim, were busy sawing and installing beams to build additional shelving above our pallets. On Tuesday, a Manna-sponsored food drive brought Kelly Deese from Hendersonville Middle School with an SUV filled with 297 pounds of food items for the pantry.

Read More

February has proven to be another eventful month at the Pantry. Donations have been generous as our "neighbor numbers" continue to increase. A monetary contribution from the Thrift Shop, located at St. James Episcopal Church, Hendersonville, has helped us meet the goal of 3 1/2 days of food or 11 meals for each of our families. This week is no exception to the activities. Last Saturday, the youth volunteers filled 50 bags of sand at the garden to hold a tarp in place as we begin our spring gardening. 

Read More

Last Saturday, with below freezing February temperatures, we provided a warm welcome to our neighbors.  Linda offered our neighbors a recipe and a sample for a tasty smoothie made with various canned and/or fresh food items available in the pantry this week. It was quite a busy morning assisting 137 families representing 486 individuals. Six new families were provided 3 1/2 days of food for the week.

Read More

On S-O-U-P-E-R Bowl Sunday, youth from Lutheran Church of the Nativity shared their interpretation of "The Big Game!" The dynamic youth group asked their congregation to bring soup and other food items along with monetary donations to support the food pantry. Over twenty boxes and bags of food were delivered for distribution on Saturday. We are so appreciative of their time and effort to help reduce food insecurity in our community.

Read More

It's always a bountiful week when there's a MANNA delivery.  The banana boxes were filled with hams, canned goods, condiments, rice and dried beans....a favorite during the winter season.  Some of the items provided by The Emergency  Food Assistance Program, a "bonus food" was canned salmon, corn, green beans, nuts, cheese, fruit, and lentils.

Read More

The countdown is on 29, 28, 27......By early March, The Lord's Acre of Fletcher, our garden, will be in full swing again. Just this past week Doug picked the last of 49 pounds of collards which will be offered to our neighbors on Saturday. The beets continue to mature and will be harvested soon. We are presently working on a more flexible garden schedule where more volunteers might be able to participate in weekly maintenance duties. Stay tuned!

Read More

Last Saturday was not for the weak of heart but for the hardy. It was everything Jason, the WLOS meteorologist, promised.... Weather Warn Day....CCCCCold and flurries!!!   We are so fortunate to have volunteers who are not only hardy but arrived well before our morning food distribution time.  The Vinings have lived in the Buffalo, NY area. Kim has lived in Maine, and Jeff in Michigan. While others of us have experienced the four seasons in the Asheville area.

Read More

Some folks may have a viewpoint about Number 13.... might be lucky, unlucky or just another number. For us at the Pantry, we believe this past Saturday, 13th was a sign of how much the volunteers enjoy opportunities to work, meet new friends, and share volunteering time with family members. Christ School students assisted in many ways including unloading, weighing and shelving food from a SUV filled with donations of food as part of a High Vista Chili Cook Off and Food Drive.

Read More

Last Friday night, I would imagine many of us fell asleep with visions of snowflakes floating in our heads...only to wake to a cold, rainy, blustery morning. Questions arose right away. Are the roads icy? Is the Pantry open? To put it all to rest, if we are not open on the regular schedule, we will notify WLOS of our closing and asked to be included in the scroll across the bottom of the TV screen. Several neighbors were already in line when the early birds arrived at 6:00 am to open up.

Read More

Happy New Year! Haven't updated our newsletter since last year! Our pantry was filled with fourteen eager "Inventory Volunteers" on Day TWO of 2024. Thanks to pantry coffee and a box of Ava's scrumptious doughnuts inventory was completed in record time. With pen, paper, and scale on hand every bar of soap to bag of chips was weighed, recorded, and available for our neighbors this past Saturday. Appreciate the prep work of our Kim's with data bases, numbered shelves, and logistics all sorted out for efficient information gathering.

Read More

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the pantry…not a volunteer was stirring only a freezer a whirring....One week later....."What should my thankful eyes observe," but a Manna delivery truck loaded with 7,500 pounds of food. Over the next two Saturdays, we will distribute these food items to our neighbors. Some of the items we received included fresh produce of eggplant, spaghetti squash, and onions. Also in our delivery was shelf food of pineapple, pasta, and peanut butter.

Read More

Joy to the World...The words to this hymn are resonating in a loop in my head. What comfort and joy it was on Saturday morning to welcome two shifts of volunteers and 183 families representing 668 individuals!  Twelve new families became part of our pantry community, too. Neighbors shopped in The Emergency Food Assistance Program room, gathered regular food items from the pantry, and collected their holiday meal as they exited the building. Thrivent donated fruitcakes and Bimbos donated lemon and cherry pies. Lois offered a blanket from Manual Woodworkers and elves were distributing candy canes to one and all.

Read More

Food, Santa's Toy Shop, and Brrrrrrrr...Yes a cold blustery morning with a pantry filled with volunteers, food, and toys!  The 150 neighbors were warmly welcomed representing 600 family members and 13 new families. Our volunteers arrived early to "man their stations" and share in the holiday spirit with our neighbors. Lois throughout the year, stores the many generous donations from our community and individuals to provide a Santa's toyshop visit.  When they say a picture is worth a 1000 words...the look on our neighbors children's faces says it all. Our sincere gratitude goes out to donors near and far in appreciation for these toys.

Read More

This time of year all kinds of merry music is on the Radio... like "Here Comes Santa Claus.. Here Comes Santa Claus.. Right down Santa Claus Lane." This past Saturday, a sleigh (Christ School Van) arrived filled with food and students. These young men went right to work unloading their food donation and assisting with the morning neighbor distribution. On Monday, First Bank arrived with food that filled two shopping carts. Several bags of personal care products were delivered by a group of retired educators from Kappa Conclave.

Read More

You may have heard about The Elf on the Shelf, a picture book for children where the Elf hides in people's homes to watch over holiday events. Our Pantry has its own Elf who watches over our Pantry. It's Elf on a Rack, a food rack. Our Elf has a sack and is asking for a food item for his holiday Sack. Items will be distributed on Saturdays to our neighbors between 8:00-11:00. Please help our Elf on the Rack fill his Food Sack.

Read More

Volunteers, Mayor Preston Blakley leading the Food Drive from the Fletcher Community, Thrivent, Scouts, Lion's Club Vision Screening Members, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Interns, and generous supporters from our area are the THANKS in THANSGIVING!  Because of your kindness by volunteering your time or monetary donations, we provided 229 neighbors with 3 1/2 days of food and a Thanksgiving Meal this past Saturday. These neighbors represent 826 family members and 17 new families.

Read More

"Happy Friendsgiving! Because of the kindness from the pantry community, we are able to offer our neighbors the items for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Generous donations of stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, gravy, and monetary donations allowed us to purchase turkeys, green beans, potatoes, rolls, and butter. Distribution of these items will be this Saturday between 8:00-11:00. It's all hands on deck as volunteers will assist our neighbors for their 3 1/2 days of food.

Read More

Reflections from the fall are numerous.  Students volunteered from the Global Lens Club at Hendersonville High School to the Day of Caring students from Christ School.  We welcomed Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Pharmacy Interns, Lion's Club, a Deerfield constituency of enthusiastic weekly volunteers,  ArdenWoods residents who sponsored a successful Hunger Walk, introduced bulk ordering ensuring that we meet our goal to provide eleven meals a week, and celebrated with our volunteers  at a Garden and Pantry Appreciation cookout...just to mention a few highlights.

Read More

When you think of celebrity chefs, Martha Stewart and Paula Dean may come to mind. We too have Martha, Linda, and Joe who are preparing tasty recipes from items available to our neighbors in the pantry. This past Saturday Chef Martha prepared a mouth-watering burrito filled with sautéed veggies and an egg. Girl Scouts from Troop 2984 and 2987 prepared a dozen "Birthday Bags" for our neighbors filled with cake mix, icing, candles, plates napkins, and candles.

Read More

Want to keep up with the Pantry and Garden? Then we have one word for you...Roller Skates. There is so much activity preparing for the neighbor food distribution on Saturday that sauntering along will leave you in the dust. (Only kidding-us over 60 are keeping up pretty well.) On Sunday afternoon, Blue Ghost Brewery supported a fundraiser for the Pantry. The band, Steady State, offered music and fellowship time for attendees' from our community.

Read More