USDA program brings food to local families

    Unaka – Fresh produce is arriving at the Unaka Community Center and other community centers across the region thanks to the Farmers to Families program and community clubs’ partnership with the program.
    Nancy Elizabeth Helms worked with both the Unaka and Grape Creek community clubs to bring the boxes of produce to the area. In just those two areas, 232 boxes are being distributed each week.
    “Everybody was just thrilled to death to get them,” Helms said.
    The boxes contained fresh green beans, bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. Helms said she was shocked to see how fresh the produce was. In Unaka and Grape Creek, they have about 20 volunteers helping distribute boxes to families.
    The Farmers to Families program was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute food that would have been sold to restaurants, schools and other food establishments closed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is funded through the Families First Act, and the local partners working with area community clubs that was awarded funding just days before the first distribution on May 15.
    The food boxes will continue to be delivered weekly for six months.
    “It’s such a good program,” Helms said. “If you keep your people healthy, they’re less likely to get sick.”
    In Cherokee County, an additional 300 boxes are going to the Bellview Community Club, Martins Creek Community Club and Cherokee County Senior Services. Because of limited funding, the program has reached capacity in western North Carolina, but options are being explored to meet the increased demand, Terri Wells, director of community and agricultural programs for WNC Communities, said in a letter to club representatives.