Gold! Silver! & Bronze!  No — not medals from the Olympics in Paris!  We.... at the Pantry and Garden hit some milestones too. Our Garden has produced over 2,000 pounds of produce this year.  Each Saturday the healthy organic vegetables are distributed to our neighbors. Manna delivered over 9,000 pounds of food this week including frozen meats, fresh produce, and food from The Emergency Food Assistance Program.  Items will be offered on Saturday between 8-11 a.m.  Our third accomplishment of the week was the new volunteers on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday assisting in the garden and pantry.

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A special "Shout Out "for our extremely dedicated volunteers who were at the Pantry on Saturday!  When 137 neighbors arrived throughout the morning, many of you stayed to ensure all had an opportunity to individually shop for food. An apology for excluding our stats on June 20, however it will show you the difference in what a week can make. June 20 we welcomed 114 neighbors representing 410 household members and ten new families. This past Saturday 137 families representing 504 household members and twelve new families were welcomed. Thanks to the Lords Acre of Fletcher, our garden and Tractor farm's produce, we distributed over 2,000 pounds of healthy produce to our neighbors this past Saturday.

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What a pleasure it was to have youth from Atlanta, Glenn Memorial Methodist Church, spend the morning with us on Tuesday!  They are part of the Asheville Youth Ministry experience. The youth picked 100 pounds of produce from the garden.  On Saturday, our neighbors will be offered green beans, cherry tomatoes, and yellow squash. Later in the morning they had a tour of the pantry and helped bag the green beans for distribution. They topped the morning off with a picnic on our campus.

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It wasn't long ago that a hardy group of volunteers gathered at the garden to remove the rocks and amend the soil filled with clay. Who would have thought that The Lord's Acre of Fletcher, our garden, would be producing over 200 pounds of vegetables each week and over 1500 pounds of produce this season!  Squash are harvested just about every other day, along with green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and my personal favorite, perpetual spinach.

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The pantry garden continues to be a valued supplement to our fresh vegetable offerings. Current and pending plantings are heralding abundant harvests in the coming months. Including other in-kind contributions, we were able to offer an additional 1,687 pounds of fresh produce in June at no monetary expense to the pantry. So far in July we have harvested 191 pounds of fresh produce with more on the way.

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June 22nd  and June 29th were busy mornings albeit visiting households were somewhat slightly lower than usual:

June 22 – 109 Households comprised of 418 individuals, 8 new households totaling 29 individuals.

June 29 – 117 households comprised of 404 individuals, 4 new households totaling 10 individuals.

Through May we were averaging 129 households per week; the current average has declined to 126 through June.

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Summer camp groups are always helpful in the garden as vegetables and weeds grow profusely. Thanks to the Disciples of Christ Church of Lexington, KY working with Asheville Youth Mission and the Service Adventure group from Lutheridge who mulched, weeded, and harvested in the last week.

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June 15th was yet another busy morning in the pantry as we served 137 Households comprising 476 individuals.  We welcomed 14 new Households having 40 members. Households receiving food so far this year totaled 3,057 comprised of 10,791 individuals.  We continue to show increases over last year. Through 24 weeks this year Households served have increased 6% and individual counts within those Households have increased 9% compared to 2023.

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"Early birds"  get some of the best pictures in the early morning.  We are looking for  " early volunteers"  who can help us on Saturday between 8:00-11:00. We hope you can join us this summer on Thursday nights at 7:00 in the garden or on Saturday morning at the pantry. 

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As the jingle goes...April Showers bring May Flowers...And 813 pounds of produce from our garden and hoop house this year according to our Garden Master, Doug Kearney.   He adds too, that this was accomplished by volunteers who helped harvest throughout late winter and early spring. Thanks to Eileen's carful calculations, she posted on the office door that we welcomed 103 families this week representing 414 household members. Two new neighbor families registered with us.

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Saturday, May 25th was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 123 Households comprising of 419 individuals.  We continue to show increases over last year. Through 21 weeks, Households served have increased 8% and individual counts within those Households have increased 12% compared to 2023.  The pantry had an abundance of vegetables to offer last week.

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Saturday, May 18th was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 133 Households comprising of 479 individuals.  We welcomed 4 new Households having 20 members. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 20 weeks, Households served have increased 7% and individual counts within those Households have increased 10% compared to 2023. Our young volunteers Elliott and Amelia Stay were busy going through boxes of assorted food staples and neatly arranging and stacking the products.  They even found time for a quick game of frisbee in the parking lot.

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This past week was incredibly momentous for the pantry.

On Wednesday (May 8) the pantry celebrated its 15th anniversary with a blessing of the Lord’s Acre of Fletcher and Tierra Fertile gardens, followed by a wonderful dinner with live music. Rev.  J. Clarkson gave a slide presentation of the history of the pantry and honored Carol Romine and Lois Pryor. They identified the need in our community and provided the vision and effort to open a food pantry in a small closet space in the Calvary Episcopal parish hall in 2009. The pantry now operates out of a 5,000 sq ft building, “The Center of Hope”.

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This Saturday (5/4) was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 127 Households comprising 437 individuals.  We welcomed 13 new Households having 30 members. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 18 weeks households served have increased 7% and individual counts within those households have increased 10% compared to 2023.

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This Saturday was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 115 Households comprising 420 individuals.  We welcomed 5 new Households having 23 members. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 17 weeks Households served have increased 8% and individual counts within those Households have increased 12% compared to 2023.

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This Saturday was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 132 Households comprising 469 individuals.  We welcomed 4 new Households having 12 members. Through 16 weeks we have served 173 more Hhouseholds and 7,027 individuals compared to 2003. Exciting news – May 8th.  Save the date. We will be celebrating two milestones as part of Rogation Day.

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Things are shaping up at the pantry garden. Four Nativity members collaborated in creating a colorful mural to decorate our tool shed. Designed by Ken Oehm, the artwork was brilliantly executed by Garden Master Doug Kearny supported by Paster Sean and Rubye. Additionally, all plants appear to be growing well. Fresh produce is a favorite of many clients and soon we will be harvesting and offering it on future Saturday mornings.

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"Take me out to the Ballpark!"  Yes you heard it here first!  What an exciting day at the Bill Moore Community Park in Fletcher on Saturday! It was the Fletcher Youth Baseball & Softball Opening Day Celebration and Calvary Food Pantry Benefit. Not only did Mayor Preston Blakely throw out the first pitch, but all 300 youth baseball and softball players donated a canned good or made a monetary donation to the Pantry. Over 400 pounds of food items were donated along with a $250.00 check from the Youth League and $233.00 from raffle ticket sales.

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On Easter weekend we welcomed 134 households representing 451 individuals. This includes 10 new households comprised of 26 individuals. In addition to their regular shopping, each household was offered additional food to prepare an Easter dinner of ham, potatoes, fresh broccoli, pineapple, dinner rolls and butter.

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Easter partially arrived a week early at the Pantry on the 23rd. Thanks to Lois, the waiting room was filled with an abundance of Easter baskets, toys and miscellaneous other items reflecting the celebration of the upcoming holiday. This coming Saturday March 30 we fill follow-up with foods for a traditional Easter dinner including delicious hams.

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