This month, Buncombe County launched a new community engagement market in Swannanoa to combat food insecurity following Hurricane Helene.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Months after Hurricane Helene tore through parts of Buncombe County, North Carolina, some residents are still grappling with food insecurity as the area works to clean up and rebuild.
In response, Buncombe County's Community Engagementteam has launched a new community market in Swannanoa aimed at helping residents regain access to basic necessities.
“We know that their local grocery store was taken offline during that time, so we started a new market out there to help support those community members,” Leonard Jones, a community engagement specialist with the county said. “We’re really seeing with prices going up at the grocery store, there's a real need around food insecurity…we'll look to see if we need to revamp or pivot any of our markets because some of our markets are twice a month, and if the opportunity to help more community, county residents, we can shift to where there's a need.”
The markets are a collaboration with MANNA FoodBankand other local nonprofits. They provide free groceries and connect residents with additional resources, such as health insurance support and information from county departments.
Jones says the community engagement markets have been running since 2013 and now operate in 14 locations across the county. Each one is tailored to the unique needs of its neighborhood, and the market in Swannanoa is new.
Jones, a native of Asheville, says this most recent market is personal for him.
“Right now we're in the Pisgah View Apartments,” he said while at another one of the county's recurring markets. “ I actually lived here back when I was in elementary school for a short bit of time.”
Community engagement has been a function of the county for more than a decade, but Jones joined the team in 2021. Following the storm, he said, their team immediately activated through the Emergency Operations Center to support residents.
“We met in the EOC and just really tried to help,” he said. “So through the relationships we build through community engagement, we really tapped into those community networks to kind of help support community in the best ways possible.”
He said water and power outages were among the most urgent concerns.
“We also knew with power, that creates a food demand as well because people lost the foods that they were refrigerating,” Jones said. “We saw a tremendous response from my county in terms of volunteerism and support and resources coming from outside of the area really coming in. But a lot of our churches and nonprofits and community organizations really rallied to support community around that time.”
He described how, in some neighborhoods, residents came together for cookouts to make use of food that would otherwise spoil. He said that is an example of what “neighbors helping neighbors” looks like.
Shaad Bellamy, who works with the organization 12 Baskets Cafe, said he's seen the value of that kind of support firsthand.
“So what I do with 12 Baskets, seven days a week we provide food for the less fortunate, the community,” Bellamy said. “We also have a thing, every four of those days we give pantry which we get produce from Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Food Lion, and they contribute to the community and we give all those things away.”
Bellamy said he came by the market not only to pick up a few items—like bottled water and paper towels—but also to support a colleague and connect with neighbors.
“It's very valuable because it helps out the less fortunate or people who are struggling or people who need it because those are three different, you know, categories of life,” he said. “And just to be able to be within the community is very humbling, which helps me as a person.”
Bellamy, originally from Wilmington, said the storm caught him off guard despite his experience with hurricanes. He said the recovery efforts have been nonstop since the storm hit on September 27.
Jones said Buncombe County is still evaluating the most impacted areas and will continue adjusting its efforts based on community input.
“Local government can do as much, but we really need to hear from the community about what their immediate needs are,” Jones said. “So as these government funds are coming into our area, supporting community, how can we do things differently?”
He said recovery is as much about rebuilding relationships and reimagining local government as it is about infrastructure.
“We know that Asheville has a lot of newcomers to the area,” he said. “But it really brings up the idea of what community means to me. As I said, it seems like every church or every corner was helping out everyone and it gave us opportunity in 2024, 25 to really get to know who your neighbors are.”
The county is encouraging residents to participate in recovery planning and provide feedback that can shape future services.
“We think the recovery is from community,” Jones said. “And so really just kind of building on those relationships that built out of the storm…we realize that we’re all in this together and it's going to take all of us to improve.”
You can find more information about that market here.
