Empowering Food Systems After Hurricane Helene
In response to the heartbreaking devastation of our region we awarded $100,000 of small business grant funds to assist farmers impacted by Hurricane Helene. This award cycle was launched earlier than planned due to the Hurricane and will provide crucial support to local farms struggling to recover from the catastrophic storm. This funding is part of a larger pool of funds (over 400k) planned for regional supply chain support over the next three years.
So far, the EMFS Hurricane Helene Recovery Grant has distributed 35 award letters to farmers from 10 different WNC counties. This grant serves as a beacon of hope for the affected communities, demonstrating that even in the face of adversity, collaboration can lead to remarkable recovery and a brighter future for all.
We are still in the process of distributing awards with another round of funding. Stay tuned!
Pictured, left:
On Thursday, January 9 in collaboration with Country Farm and Home of Pittsboro, NC, AgCare of Candler, and the facilities team at the NC State Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, we distributed $6,234.39 worth of supplies to four Buncombe County farmers as a part of our Helene Supplies Grant. This partnership provided farmers with high-quality equipment, while the station staff generously lent their expertise and manpower to assist with the loading and transportation of heavy equipment such as wooden posts, metal fencing, barbed wire, and more to help get these farms back up and running ahead of the spring season.
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