For many residents of the High Country who are facing food insecurity, where their next meal is coming from is a constant source of stress, especially during the holidays. Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture’s Local Love for the Holidays Program changed that. Thanks to an incredible community effort, 120 local families will enjoy the gift of fresh, local goodness this holiday season through the Local Love for the Holidays program.
Thanks to $2,000 in donations from High Country Food Hub customers alongside support from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Food Lion of Blowing Rock, Impact Health and meat donations from Piedmont Custom Meats, the Local Love Program purchased and distributed $7,825 of food for holiday meals. Casting Bread, Blowing Rock Cares, and Feeding Avery Families distributed the 120 holiday meal kits to their clients.
The High Country Food Hub’s Local Food as Medicine Program purchased the delicious, farm-fresh ingredients from twenty High Country farmers for these shares. All meal kits included pork and sausage, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, apples, grain (cornmeal, rice or flour), fresh herb bundles, and hams from Food Lion of Blowing Rock.
“We are so lucky to have such amazing growers in the High Country!” said Laney Baker, BRWIA’s Producer Programs Coordinator. “It can be hard to provide this much volume in December in the High Country and they rocked it even after a 15 degree frost! One farm even took a pig to the processor to help us supply enough sausage.”.
“We are so grateful for the food provided—this is exactly what we include in our holiday meals,” shared Dennis Norris at Blowing Rock Cares. “We truly appreciate everything BRWIA has done to support us and our community.”
Sam Springs, BRWIA’s Local Food as Medicine Coordinator, remarked, “Thanks to all our partners and supporters who helped make this program a success! Everyone deserves access Press release Local Love for Holidays
to healthy, nutritious local food, and it’s incredible to see how our Food Hub customers give back so that everyone can enjoy a local holiday meal.”
This holiday season, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, with support from the High Country community, supplied fresh, local food for many families’ holiday tables. The Local Love for the Holidays program helps to build a resilient local food system by supporting small-scale food producers while increasing food access and security.
For more information about BRWIA’s impactful local food programs, please visit brwia.org.
About Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture
Formed in 2003, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA) is a women-led organization that builds an equitable, sustainable High Country local food system by supporting producers and cultivating community connections that educate, inspire, and increase the demand for local food. To learn more about BRWIA, please visit Facebook @BRWIA, Instagram @brwia, or www.brwia.org.
About The High Country Food Hub
The High Country Food Hub, operated by Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, is an online retailer for local farmers and producers that provides community members an opportunity to access quality, local products all year long. The High Country Food Hub has reinvested over $4 million dollars back into the local food economy since 2017. There are several pickup locations around the High Country which helps make local food more accessible to all. To learn more about the High Country Food Hub, please visit Facebook @HighCountryFoodHub, Instagram @highcountryfoodhub, or www.highcountryfoodhub.org.
About Local Food as Medicine:
Local Food As Medicine (LocalFAM) is BRWIA’s food access program, which enables community organizations to provide their neighbors with fresh, nutritious food, supplied by local producers through the High Country Food Hub. The food is free to recipients, and producers are paid full retail price for their products. LocalFAM is built on the philosophy that everyone has a right to access healthy food and that nutritious food can serve as medicine, particularly for treating and preventing many of the chronic illnesses that people experiencing food insecurity are at a high risk for. Learn more at www.brwia.org/local-food-as-medicine
For general information, please contact info@brwia.org or 828-386-1537.
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