- Last in a two-part series.
Topton The Food Lion Feeds program made its first visit to the mountains of western North Carolina on April 1 during the monthly food bank at Aquone Baptist Church to celebrate meeting its goal of providing 1 billion meals through its “Thanks A Billion” program.
 |
The program’s mission statement of sorts is, “No one should have to choose between dinner and rent or gas and groceries.” To that end, between partnering within corporate ranks as well as employee volunteer hours along with strong customer support, they aim to offer 1 billion more meals by the end of 2025.
While Hurricane Helene devastated Manna Food Bank’s capacity to reach the far western counties in the latter portion of 2024, those two months were part of what cauterized Food Lion’s efforts to help those in the affected areas while working to regain access to the food pantries of our area.
Manna Food Bank has served western North Carolina since 1983. According to its website, they “provide emergency food support to more than 130,000 people region-wide each month.”
The two groups partnered during the recent event. Here’s the rest of the story.
Food desert
Bethany Vance, community market manager with Manna Food Bank, said the Aquone market is one of their most frequented because most of Topton and Nantahala is a “food desert,” meaning it’s 25 minutes or more one way to procure food at a grocery store.
With the closest stores being in either Bryson City or Franklin, it just “makes sense for us to have an outreach here in Nantahala,” she said.
 |
“At Manna, we partner with different agencies, and corporations like Food Lion, to help provide the necessary foodstuffs to communities in need – whether from economic need or lack of access to regular food markets – and partnering with the Food Lion Feeds program has been such a wonderful collaboration,” Vance said.
“After Helene hit our area and office in Asheville, Food Lion provided us with much-needed gift cards to help immediately those in greatest need.”
Vance recognizes that the aging population of rural western North Carolina were used to growing their own food when able, which has impacted not only their generation but others. Food insecurity because of location is one of Manna’s main challenges in the region, especially in the wake of natural disasters, but Vance added that the food bank is dedicated to combatting hunger in far-western counties as well.
This is who we are
Food Lion employees helped set up a “fresh market” or sorts with produce ranging from carrots to lettuce, potatoes, onions and green peppers and provided large reusable shopping bags with the slogan, “Lettuce Give You A Hand.”
Food Lion Feeds Director Kevin Durkee started the celebration with a speech identifying Food Lion’s targets of providing 1 billion meals. Since that goal has been reached, they’re looking to provide 1 billion more before the end of this year.
He thanked both Manna and various local volunteers whose commitment shines each month at Aquone Baptist, along with the Food Lion Feeds employee volunteers who attended to assist with the day’s festivities and distribution.
Durkee added that Food Lion Feeds has worked hard to fill “tables and hearts” since the chain’s inception in 1957. The company remains committed to caring in the cities and states they serve.
“This is who we are,” he said proudly of his program. “Today proves our commitment to valuing our communities and providing to those in need for whatever reason.”
Several associates from regional Food Lion stores were on hand to help dispense fresh produce and offer assistance and a united stance against hunger. Employees from Franklin, Hendersonville and Morganton attended to show their participation in the Food Lion Feeds program is important to their sense of community.
‘Thanks A Billion’
Billy Williams, vice president of operations for the Southern Division of Food Lion, was on hand to talk about how his job spans most of the Southeast. The region routinely suffers from some form of natural disaster whether in the coastal Carolinas, Georgia or Florida, and what a large task Food Lion sees in giving back in times of need.
Emphasizing his own personal commitment to volunteering he spoke of how his sons, who are 4 and 7 years old, are already accompanying him to soup kitchens once a month as part of their personal family ministry.
“They enjoy the work, and even though they’re young they’re learning a sense of commitment and gratification from helping out,” Williams said.
He went on to speak about those gift cards, which were vital to the Asheville area in the wake of Helene.
“We provided over 38,000 gift cards when we saw the devastation there. We knew other facilities were ruined and Manna Food Bank would need our help, only more so and we provided that help,” Williams said. “As we will again and again.”
Williams finished by adding that Food Lion was proud to present a check for $20,000 to Manna Food Bank in support of their continued commitment to ending hunger in western North Carolina.
Corporate engagement
Manager Olivia Onderlinde gave a speech acknowledging all the assistance Food Lion Feeds has provided to Manna, saying without that sort of corporate commitment and generosity from both employees and customers the food bank’s job would be much harder in allaying the needs of the hungry in our region.
Onderlinde gratefully accepted a check and, with a choked-up voice, added, “Thank you, Food Lion and all of you, for what you do.”
Overall, the lesson of the day was one of connection to each other in recognizing community needs and working to help both neighbors and strangers with meeting the most basic of them.
Volunteers are always welcome with the market at Aquone Baptist Church or with Manna Food Bank.
Details: Visit foodlion.com/pages/food-lion-feeds and mannafoodbank.org.