April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month, a time to express gratitude and acknowledge the many helping hands and hearts that enable us to THRIVE! Throughout the month we’re featuring various Volunteer Spotlights shedding light on the critical role our volunteer family plays in helping to nourish our community. April is an opportunity for us to remember that not all superheroes wear capes, though some wear veggie costumes. 🙂 Check back throughout the month as more spotlights are added!
Joey and Christy have been volunteering throughout the pandemic (and pre-pandemic too with their kiddos!) at the weekly drive-thru markets. You’ll most often be greeted by their smiling faces as they load beautiful boxes of produce with vibrant flowers into your car. These two consistently bring joy and enthusiasm to their interactions with the community and truly add SO much to our volunteer family. They’ve described it at times as a sort of “date” where they get to exist in the world as a couple for a little while. Thank you, Joey and Christy for always bringing your A-game and leading such a positive example for your tribe!
As many of you know, we’ve made great strides on our website in the past year as we’ve pivoted to primarily virtual programming and resource-sharing. There have been a handful of dedicated individuals putting in time behind-the-scenes to create, polish and ultimately make these resources accessible on our website and social media platforms. We’d like to give a HUGE thank you to our former UNCA Marketing and Communications intern Alan who recently graduated, as well as our Director of Community Engagement’s other half Patrick, who is the Director of IT for Skyterra Wellness for guiding and implementing these longtime goals. Visit the Education & Recipe pages on our website to explore the myriad of recipes, videos & resources now available with input from countless volunteers and interns with a passion for health and wellness education. It’s been truly inspiring to see this built essentially from scratch in the past year.
Tina has been a longtime member of the Bounty & Soul community and has always been passionate about ensuring our furry friends have nourishment. Shortly after joining our rotation of weekly pet food volunteers who rescue cat and dog food from the Asheville Humane Society she naturally gravitated towards a leadership role. Now Tina spearheads the entire project even helping to recruit new folks from the Black Mountain community. We are grateful for her humble, steadfast dedication to sharing these resources at markets!
Drumroll, please…Today’s #NationalVolunteerAppreciationMonth spotlight goes out to the amazing, adaptable, up-for-any-thing culinary queen Annette!!! This spotlight has been a LONG time coming as Annette’s time with us spans several years now. Not only has Annette contributed weekly cooking demo videos throughout the pandemic as we embraced online programming she’s established her own following on YouTube (Living Heart Oasis) as well featuring plant-based recipes inspired by her personal journey to wellness. She continues to shine bright each week helping with Cooking Demo Prep, behind-the-scenes, and divvying out farm and garden bounty at our Local Produce Pop-Up. Thank you, Annette for always sharing your nutrition nuggets with the community, we don’t know where we’d be without you!
Each Thursday we have a dedicated crew of bilingual volunteers spearheaded by our AMAZING intern Campo and newly hired Program Assistant Francisco deliver bountiful, culturally-relevant food boxes and resources to nearly 40 households in Swannanoa. These individuals not only deliver food door-to-door they also deliver hope, encouragement and support. They have built lasting bonds within the community by making deliveries to the same families and individuals each week and are constantly checking in about special dietary requests and other helpful resources. Thank you to our Thursday market crew for helping to co-create safe, inclusive spaces so our neighbors can THRIVE!
Recently, we shared our mission and vision with the 7th and 8th grade Omega Middle School classes at Rainbow Community School After learning about our zero-waste food rescue work and whole-person approach to health and wellness they were eager to find a way to give back! Still being in a hybrid of onsite and remote schooling we agreed that our Love Notes project would give ALL students, faculty, parents and siblings an opportunity to contribute. Last week we received these GORGEOUS thoughtfully-crafted notes of encouragement to support weekly markets. They’ve been rippling out into the community ever since. This goes to show that EVERYONE has something to give and the power of positive intentions can have real and lasting effects on both those giving and receiving. #AllYouNeedIsLove #CommunitySupportingCommunity #ProduceToThePeople
Talk about a dynamic duo Konrad and Megs is truly a match made in heaven. These two have been supporting the Friday drive-thru market for months now at our Local Produce Pop-Up sharing farm-fresh goodness and tidbits on how to prepare when you get home Konrad previously interned a few summers ago and created the foundation for our now thriving Farmers Alliance program. Their shared energy and enthusiasm for supporting local gardens and farms is infectious and leaves everyone feeling refreshed, inspired and ready for the weekend. Thanks Konrad and Megs for helping us bring nourishing, LOCAL #ProduceToThePeople