One Year After Helene: Moving Forward, Rising Together

The one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene was a powerful experience for MANNA and Western North Carolina, filled with both grief for what we lost and celebration of the resilience that carries us forward.

Over the past year, generosity and care have poured into our community. Our staff kept food moving and shared our journey of rebuilding after the loss of our warehouse in Asheville. Thousands of new volunteers, donors, and foundations stepped up alongside us. Neighboring food banks helped distribute food when our capacity was limited. That early support inspired even more support, feeding people through the first chaotic weeks, but also growing into something lasting.

Though we will continue to feel Helene’s impact, we are investing in WNC’s collective future with an enduring legacy of unmatched resilience and care. Extraordinary support has allowed us to expand our operations, grow partnerships and programs to reach underserved communities, and launch our Essential Foods Program to provide more fresh produce and protein to our neighbors in need.

For decades to come, MANNA will provide food and resources to our 220+ partner network from our new warehouse in Mills River—acquired just three days after the storm, transformed and still being upfitted through community support, and sustained by the dedication of staff, volunteers, and partners who will continue to serve our neighbors for the long haul.

Just as acts of kindness and generosity tend to multiply, so too do the challenges we face together. Food insecurity across WNC is already at unprecedented levels, with MANNA and our partner agencies now being visited more than 195,000 times each month on average, a significant increase from before the storm. And as disaster recovery continues, our region faces reduced funding and growing threats to critical programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and HOP, the full impact of which will only deepen the need in the months ahead.

MANNA cannot meet this need alone, but we are not discouraged. Helene will now always be a part of MANNA’s story, but thanks to the power of this community, it will be a story of how together, we built back stronger, ensuring that there is food for all in WNC—today, tomorrow, and for a lifetime.

With gratitude,

Your MANNA Family