Beyond bureaucracy: When Helene exposed government failures, nonprofits stepped in
As on any other rainy late summer morning in Southern Appalachia, the sun rose over densely wooded, knobby green peaks cloaked in a thick downy mist.
At a large, nondescript warehouse off Swannanoa River Road just outside downtown Asheville, it may have looked like any other day — workers bustling about, trucks coming in and out — but for MANNA FoodBank, which fights food insecurity in a historically poverty-stricken region by serving up to 190,000 people a month, this day would be unlike any other for perhaps the last thousand years.
USDA to provide $1 billion to flood and wildfire-impacted livestock producers
Eligible livestock producers will receive disaster recovery assistance through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program for 2023 and 2024 Flood and Wildfire to help offset increased supplemental feed costs due to a qualifying flood or qualifying wildfire in calendar years 2023 and 2024.
Whatley doing nothing for WNC
To the Editor:
Michael Whatley was appointed by the President to lead WNC’s Helene recovery efforts, but as of Aug. 29 — as reported in an article in The Smoky Mountain News on Aug. 27 — he hasn’t been seen in WNC since January. He’s found time to attend just two meetings for his appointed role with FEMA.
State begins to send checks for Helene crop losses
The first group of checks have been sent to farmers who applied for disaster assistance through the 2024 Ag Disaster Crop Loss, with more to follow in the coming weeks, said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. The first round of checks was sent to farmers in Western North Carolina.
We have to fix Social Security
To the Editor:
AARP recently sent out an email with this message:
“Social Security will continue to give people the full amount of money they’ve earned in the next several years. However, payments may be reduced by about 20% if Congress doesn’t act by 2034, according to the Social Security Board of Trustees’ latest report.
Helping those still struggling
To the Editor:
Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene, Western North Carolina is still in the thick of a housing crisis. Families who once had steady jobs are now living paycheck to paycheck, one unexpected setback away from losing their homes.
Food assistance program likely to be gutted, despite helping WNC residents
Like any parent or guardian, Katie Clubb wants to provide nutritious food for her grandchildren. Clubb, a Canton resident, said with rising grocery prices, SNAP benefits don’t adequately cover healthy options for anyone in her household.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2024 reported that the average person received $187.20 in SNAP — Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program — per participant, per month.
Helene victims still waiting for Whatley
Scenic Chimney Rock has historically been an out-of-the-way place, nestled tightly against the Broad River in a narrow valley between lush, towering peaks that peer down at nearby Lake Lure. It’s always been difficult to get there — especially now, with most roads still closed 11 months after Hurricane Helene — but you’ll know you’re heading in the right direction up Highway 9 by the near-ceaseless stream of dump trucks coming down and out.
The cost of ‘free:’ Americans are surviving not because of the system, but in spite of it
Squeezed into a corner room on the ground floor of what was once a grade school in a quiet Waynesville neighborhood, a small free pantry and market provides food, clothing and household goods to some of Haywood County’s most vulnerable citizens at no cost. The pantry is one of many, rooted in compassion and community, but also in contradiction.
Mountain Projects celebrates 60 years of service, calls for community action
As Mountain Projects celebrates its 60th anniversary serving Haywood and Jackson Counties, the organization is marking a season of both reflection and action. Executive Director Patsy Davis, who has led the agency for 27 years, will retire this summer.
