November 2020 Bountiful Cities News

Resilience is Something We can GROW!
Community Garden Spotlight...

Michael Stratton and his community started the Fairview Road Resilience Garden this spring in response to Covid-19 with the goal of growing as much food as possible for donation. At the end of this growing season they had donated over 400 pounds of veggies to Bounty and Soul to distribute. Sweet potatoes, peppers, melons, cabbage, broccoli and beans were some of the many fresh vegetables produced and shared from their gardens. That amount of production could only happen in a brand new garden with lots of collaboration, "We built a steering committee who contributed money and labor to keep the garden going" Stratton says. Regular meetings and workdays (with masks!) in the garden helped the group stay in communication. It is not an easy task to keep a group of people focused on garden maintenance in the midst of a pandemic, Stratton and his group hope to double or triple their yield next year and their efforts will bring increased resilience to their Oakley community in more ways than one. Follow them on Facebook to find out more about their Fairview Road Resilience Garden. ​

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FEAST Updates

Social Distance Garden Workdays at Vance Elementary:
Tuesdays 1pm- 4pm and Fridays 10am- 11:30 am
** Will continue until at least Thanksgiving and likely into December depending on tasks and weather. BYO face covering, garden gloves, and weeding tools and RSVP to [email protected] or [email protected]

- Donate your bagged leaves and veggie scraps to the Vance Peace Garden compost project! 
- Seeking volunteers skilled in laying paving stones to help re-do the Greenhouse floor this winter! 

Contact [email protected] for more info. Also check out this blog post  Jordan recently wrote for Asheville Greenworks/ Bee CityUSA about her monarch project at Vance. ​

Before the first frost last week, a few families came to the Tuesday afternoon Vance Garden workday to dig up sweet potatoes and harvested a whopping 26 lbs!! The kids were so excited and proud, and each took a few potatoes home.

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Free Food Pantries Building Community Resilience

Two Asheville neighborhoods, Shiloh and East End, received free food pantries at the end of October which will be stocked by an initial donation from Buncombe County and on-going donations from local residents. So many collaborations made these pantries happen! Bountiful Cities, Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council, Green Opportunities, The City of Asheville, St. James AME Church, Shiloh Community Garden, and Town and Mountain Realty, came together with individuals and volunteers to design, create, install and paint. Donations of shelf stable food and supplies are accepted!

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Shiloh Community Resource Center Fundraiser

Help raise funds for The Shiloh Community Association to open a SCA Community Resource Center in the neighborhood! The Shiloh Community is one of the oldest and most historic African American communities in Asheville, NC. The funds raised here will go towards a resources center, with office space for the SCA , residential business incubation, classroom and community meeting space, a certified kitchen and more resources for neighborhood. This has been a goal of the SCA since the writing of the 2025 plan back in 2010.

Donate here: https://gf.me/u/y67667

Bountiful Cities is so pleased to have two new
​Business Sponsors!

Leonetti is a Town and Mountain Realty Group. They believe strongly in giving back and getting involved. Luiz, Jessi and Nan spent many years working for non-profit organizations striving to make significant contributions to causes they are passionate about. Leonetti values healthy choices, empowerment by experience, and plain old getting outside!

Gaia Herbs is proud to be a Certified B Corporation®, actively working to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. The Gaia Farm is nestled in the Pisgah Forest area of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and herbs are grown organically, sustainably, and intentionally. Since Gaia Herbs was just a seedling in 1987, they have remained true to our purpose: Connecting people, plants & planet to create healing.