Connecting With Our WNC Peers

Last month, a group of our staff spent a few days connecting with our peer network in Western NC. We packed food boxes at Tractor Food and Farms, saw the team at Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture prepare High Country Food Hub orders, and toured Deal Orchard’s apple processing facilities.  

Most of all, we had the opportunity to share conversation and learn about each other’s work, noticing how our operations are unique to the communities we serve as we all take part in building a healthy food system in North Carolina. It’s a privilege to do this work together, with the mutual support and kindred vision of passionate farmers and fellow food hubs.   

Our team packed up and headed back to Durham as Helene churned closer to NC. In the days following the storm, after receiving word everyone was safe, we felt extra grateful for the chance to visit partner organizations in person and see the impact they have in our local foodshed.  

In the weeks since, our friends have inspired us again and again. It’s groups like these that connect farmers with resources that help them repair and ensure their communities – especially rural and underserved – are fed in the wake of disaster. Their dedication makes the difference.