We wish you all some semblance of peace as we recover from Helene and navigate all the challenges with the process. We have seen the benefits of collaborating with the soil team in assessing contamination and funneling equipment resources to farmers to prepare their farms for spring production. We even hosted some educational programs that were planned before the storm.

While normal is not in our vocabulary yet, our team has supplied some support to our community one step at a time. 

We aspire to continue serving you all, planning for renewed efforts to support the rebuilding and strengthening of our community connections. Heartfelt thanks to our Extension Partners, Small Business Centers, Non-Profit Partners, and Food Hubs as we strive together for a brighter 2025. 

Laura, Jennifer, Jess, Jesse, and Marguerite, the EMFS Team

We have begun distributing funds to recipients of our Recovery Grant. Hear from Ellie at Smallholding Farm in Morganton about how the funds impacted their farm:

We luckily had no flooding, which we are so grateful for. On top of that, our pigs, chickens, and animals all survived. We lost a greenhouse in the wind of the hurricane, which had crops already planted for winter. With the support from our community and this grant, we were able to rebuild structural and plastic damage quickly. Most of our crops survived, other than getting wind damage, like ripped holes or some rotted brassicas (broccoli/kale/crops) that didn't like the extreme weather change. Our farm lost electricity which we had 2 markets worth of produce lost - which was a heavy hit financially that week. After that, because most of our sales outlets were in Asheville, we switched gears to Charlotte, NC - with hubs that quickly bought us out of produce and supported our needs. We are super grateful to Charlotte Freshlist specifically. It's been a true measure of mutual aid and community support to see farmers markets in Asheville jump back so quickly, and we are grateful for the continual support from friends, neighbors, and family.

This grant is what helped us replenish lost greenhouse materials, as well as financially keep up afloat - rather than tying lots of winter savings into hurricane relief. We always keep moving. Charlotte has opened our eyes to a new community of folks who love fresh produce. We hope to keep these outlets, and continue to work with our beloved asheville farmers markets. 

While we cannot fund each application we are working to support grantees through other agencies. The NCDA is collaborating with NC Cooperative Extension to supply hay and other livestock support. We are continuing to work wth the NCSU Soils team to support testing and soil recommendations.

Elena Rogers, Area Specialized Agent, shared with us an update on soil testing efforts in collaboration with EMFS!



Thanks to the funding provided through the EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems Project, small farms that grow fresh fruits and vegetables in Western NC affected by flooding from Hurricane Helene were able to test soil and water sources. Testing results were critical to inform the flood assessments conducted by NC State Extension and help growers get back to work safely on a timely basis.

Check our events webpage for the most up to date information.