Community gardens combat food insecurity in Swannanoa Valley

A rainbow is seen above a community garden in Swannanoa.

Paws & Effect and Pearse Lyons ACE Foundation have come together to create community gardens.
These community gadens give food away for free to Valley residents.

SWANNANOA – Once the waters brought forth by Tropical Storm Helene receded, damage inventory began throughout Western North Carolina.

Before the storm, Swannanoa’s primary grocery store was an Ingles. Now, a year after Helene hit, that Ingles is still not open. Though Ingles announced it would reopen a store in Swannanoa, a timeline has not been shared.

A new independent grocery store, Rite Buy Grocery, is slated to open in Beacon Village this fall.

In the meantime, residents and nonprofits have been left to fill in the gaps of food insecurity in the region.

One of the ways this need is being addressed is through a series of gardens spread throughout Swannanoa, known as the One Acre One Health initiative. These gardens are a collaboration between nonprofits Paws & Effect and the Pearse Lyons ACE Foundation.

Paws & Effect is a nonprofit that works to train and place service dogs. The Pearse Lyons ACE Foundation is the philanthropic arm of agriculture company Alltech.

Nicole Shumate, Paws & Effect founder and executive director, lives in the Valley, and said she and other farmers would meet at a local restaurant every morning after the storm to discuss what needed to be done next. It was here she met Hillary Tucker, who works for Alltech.

Tucker said she was coming to the Swannanoa Valley from Kentucky every few weeks to bring supplies, and something became clear to her.

“As things evolved, one of the things that became pretty clear pretty quickly is that food insecurity is a problem in the Valley,” Tucker said.

While driving around the Valley, Tucker said she began to notice plots of land that would be perfect for growing food.

Tucker and Shumate began discussions about what they could do and eventually brought in Swannanoa resident Steve Senn to help with the gardens.

Senn said all of the plots are on private land and do not cost the owner anything. The gardens are insured through Paws & Effect and its One Acre One Health initiative.

All the food that is grown in the gardens goes directly into the community, being donated and distributed through Blunt Kitchen, Bounty & Soul and the Blessing Barn. All of the food is provided free of charge.

“It has just sort of taken hold,” Tucker said. “There’s been a lot of interest. There’s been an amazing amount of support. It’s been interesting to watch that kind of unfold. But I think we have a model now and the plan is to continue to – pun intended – grow this project going into the next year and beyond.”

Tucker said the Pearse Lyons ACE Foundation is providing support in the way of seeds and supplies and doing promotional work.

She said it was a “long, slow” process getting the gardens started because of how wet and rainy the weather has been this season. Tucker said the project has gone through some “growing pains” but is now looking forward to growing and expanding the operation.

The project relies on volunteers. Tucker said she wants there to be a “little bit of fellowship, a little bit of community around something positive” when it comes to volunteering in the garden.

Senn said many of the volunteers come from Warren Wilson College classes, while others come from across the country.

“It’s been amazing just to see how much people have come and where they’ve come from to help out,” Senn said.

He said he tries to get contact information for every volunteer to send them photos when the crops are ready to harvest, to show them what they’ve done.

“That’s something they need to carry for the rest of their life,” Senn said. “Because where would any of us be after what we’ve been through without volunteers and donating funds? It’s been pretty darn amazing.”

Tucker said the ultimate goal with the garden is simple.

“Our goal is just to feed people,” Tucker said. “That’s it. It’s just to get food out there and make it available to anybody in the community that needs it. We don’t ask questions. You don’t need to explain your situation to us. If you need it and we have it, you’re welcome to it. That’s really all there is to it.”

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