Within the awe and majesty of the WNC mountains, there is an even deeper beauty that reveals itself when rural communities come together to feed their Neighbors. After driving two hours west of Buncombe County, I found myself at a MANNA Community Market along the Nantahala River in Topton, NC.
There, I met Patty Waters, the site organizer and community advocate. Patty, along with over a dozen volunteers, diligently provide canned goods and fresh produce once a month to over 100 families who drive to their location from across the area. From mothers with newborn children to senior citizens, the ages of people visiting spanned across all generations—showing that food insecurity truly impacts everyone.
“Folks who live here have to drive over 30 minutes in any direction to get food or medicine,” said Patty. “For many of these families, this is their only local access to fresh food. We knew we had to do something about this food desert, so we partnered with MANNA back in 2021 to launch this distribution site… and words cannot express how much of an impact it’s had on our community.”
I watched as kids with bright smiles reached for bags of rice, beans, potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes and placed them into their carts—eager to help their parents shop for groceries. A middle-aged woman lit up when she found her favorite truffle sauce to compliment her dinner recipe that she planned to cook that evening. From basic food necessities to the simple luxuries of seasonings and ingredients, I was reminded at Nantahala that the power of community resiliency is revealed in the beauty of togetherness.
—Micah Chrisman, Director of Marketing & Communications at MANNA FoodBank
