Timing is everything. Last week we welcomed a room full of neighbors from the community. Thanks to the St. Andrew Gleaners who donated baskets of apples and peaches, we had quite a bit of fruit to distribute. This week they gleaned lots of russet potatoes. St. James Episcopal Church in Hendersonville donated over 223 pounds of food from their congregation. They also included a monetary donation which we used to purchase milk.  Many thanks to the volunteers who stayed until every family was served!

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You may remember the hit song by the Beatles, "All You Need is Love!"  Well, our pantry was certainly filled with LOVE.....that is tasty Mini-LOVE Watermelons last Saturday. Our "Neighbors" were offered one of these organically grown watermelons from our garden. We are expecting another watermelon harvesting soon. Hope you can join us on Thursday night at 6:30 in the garden where we'll be planting our fall collards.

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Are you old enough to remember lemonade for sale on tables you may have had on your front lawn or driveway?  Thanks to the Crowfield Neighborhood Association, they donated lemonade and ice cream for our neighbors and volunteers.  We set up a stand right in the middle of the pantry. Sometimes you just need comfort food.

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Another "Egg-cellent” day at the Pantry!  "No YOLK" For the past three weeks we have received enough eggs from Manna to distribute at least two dozen eggs to each family. What a treat!  Thank you, MANNA!!! Not to be out done, our Garden is producing rows of "LOVE!" That is...mini-love watermelons! This past Thursday night, the tomatoes that were planted along the garden rows were harvested and left over stalks were taken to the compost pile. 

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Just as you, "Faithful Volunteers,” answered the call last week for the many opportunities to volunteer, Father J., our Rector, has accepted the call to become the next Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Loveland, Colorado.

We appreciate Father J's dedication to the Pantry and Garden and the many ways he's touched our lives. His wisdom and guidance has "shepherded" us through many successes and challenges. Our many successes are reflected through our volunteer support, grants for food, and capital projects like hoop houses and cold storage.

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Surprises are welcome and appreciated! Our pantry was filled with surprises this week! It began on Monday with an enthusiastic group of youth from Minnesota who volunteered in the garden, toured the pantry, and helped stock the shelves in the pantry. What a delightful energetic group! The next surprise was a donation of cases of Chicken and Dumpling Soup from Arden Woods that practically filled one of our large racks. Thank you, Carol, for transporting the soup and to Arden Woods for such a tasty donation.  

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Some of you may remember the children's nursery rhyme, "Rain, Rain, Go Away....."  We have been blessed by an abundance of rain and warm (hot) days resulting in a bumper crop of produce…and weeds! So…Weeds, Weeds, Go Away!  Come Again Another Day!! Come help us "gather" weeds on Thursday nights at 6:30. Just last Thursday night 237 pounds of produce was harvested from our garden. Our "neighbors" were thrilled to receive a variety of fresh veggies.

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Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue! Three days of volunteers were needed for Mini-Manna Delivery, Stocking Shelves, and Food Distribution.  All three days were covered this week!  What a great community of volunteers we have ensuring we can continue to help feed our neighbors each week. 

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If you were near the pantry garden this week, you may have noticed WLOS was videotaping Chef Martha for a segment on Carolina Kitchen. Her honey cumin sautéed carrots were mouthwatering, along with the tasty watermelon, cucumber, and feta cheese salad. Bill, the photographer, captured bees flying into our hives, the new hoop house, and our garden beds filled and ready to harvest of organic produce!

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What a blessing it was for the Calvary Episcopal Church Food Pantry to be the recipient of the "Love Erin" outreach program on Saturday.  Christie Pickel, the mother, shared the family's  mission- "Love Erin" is to continue to share Erin's love and light to those in need.  Twelve members of Erin's family gathered to donate needed items (a wagon filled with ramen noodles and canned fruit), shop with the pantry neighbors, and assist with carry out.... filling 106 shopping carts with food and supplies.

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The highlight of our week was the service of Thanksgiving and Blessing at the Lord‘s Acre and Tierra Fertil. Father J. led the procession to the Lord‘s Acre of Fletcher, our garden. The Church Yard, Compost Area, the Lord’s Acre, Tierra Fertil, and our Dinner were all part of the blessing. Many thanks to those who helped build the hoop house and prepare for the special event..

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It was another busy Saturday morning at the pantry. On June 7th we served 133 households comprised of 496 individuals. We welcomed eleven new households and 29 new individuals. The pantry garden produced 200 pounds of freshly harvested collard greens to supplement our produce distribution. We were also able to offer several other types of donated produce. Fresh produce is actively embraced by many of our visiting neighbors.

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Lots of ladders, a lift, and volunteer lads (oops, men) safely put some of the final touches on the Hoop House this week. That would mean the cover! A gentle breeze helped as the volunteers attached the cover. It truly has been a labor of love as the volunteers arrived early each morning full of energy and one could sense the camaraderie among them. You will not be disappointed on Wednesday at the Blessing of the Hoop House and Garden.

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Advent Health's Gardens of Hope Program goal is “A hands on practical short course for cancer survivors.” Plus, it includes how to grow your own produce in your home garden while volunteering at a functioning garden that supplies produce for the food insecure population in our community.

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"Watching the Magic Happen!" was the topic for the Advent Health Gardens of Hope Program on Tuesday night. Doug Kearney explained how to succeed at planting seeds in the soil, buying transplants from the store, or starting your own. Was there an "AHA" moment or two...Absolutely! Just two weeks ago volunteers "thinned" the carrots and covered the tender sprouts with garden netting.  The carrots caused quite a stir as you can tell from the picture at the end of the newsletter. They also harvested the last of the beets.

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Save the Date! Our Second Hoop House & Garden Blessing will be held on June 11, 2025. More information and sign up to follow.

Never a dull moment at the Pantry! Last Saturday several Christ School students assisted us in helping to make our inventory area more efficient.  Items were shifted about, like the diapers, etc., to make food items more assessable for restocking on busy distribution days. 

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The annual Rummage and Plant Sale was held this past Saturday. The Parish Hall was filled to the brim, the porch was bursting with plants donated from Van Wingerden International and parishioners, and the parking lot was over flowing with enthusiastic shoppers. Attendees left with bags filled with many treasures. On behalf of the Pantry Board, many thanks for the assistance of so many volunteers throughout the week and on Saturday. St. James Episcopal Church's Thrift Store collected all remaining items at the end of the day. Linda Wozniak and her team of volunteers are to be commended for a job well done. Thank you one and all!!

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News from The Lord's Acre of Fletcher, the Thursday after Easter begins here...On Thursday night a passionate group of garden volunteers were directed by our Garden Manager, Doug Kearney, to plant tomatoes in the hoophouse. He had prepared a poster with the steps to follow. Basically, you dug a 6" hole and a shallow trench from the hole. The tomatoes roots were placed on its side and then you covered the stem with soil up to the leaves of this 12" plant. Doug assured us that the plant would be vertical by the next morning.

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What a glorious Saturday morning at the pantry!  It was all hands on deck as we held our regular food shopping opportunity and a tasty Easter meal. Neighbors were offered a ham, potatoes, bok choy, broccoli, rolls, and butter. An extra thank you to our carry out volunteers who helped distribute the extra meal and pushed shopping carts to cars. As you can see in the above picture many neighbors arrived before 7:00 in anticipation of the extra meal.

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On Saturday, we were so fortunate to host the UNC ESHELMAN SCHOOL OF PHARMACY interns from UNCA for glucose and blood pressure screening. Our neighbors and volunteers were offered this opportunity at no charge. This week, NC MedAssist, the only statewide, non-profit free pharmacy in North Carolina offered over-the-counter medications to our neighbors at no cost. Tylenol and Tums were a couple of items that were offered.

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