We Are In Our Happy Place

Because of volunteers like Finn Bridgeford, pictured here, who brings the joy at the center of We Give A Share to his work at Gaining Ground Farm. 

We have many volunteers, many hands and hearts bring nutritious, delicious-tasting, fresh-from-the-farm fare to our neighbors in Asheville who need it most. And we do it joyfully. 

We also do it gratefully thanks to the generosity of so many people and partners. We've got a new farm -- Olivette Farm -- and its talented farmer Joe Evans now on board helping us and we're about to start a collaboration with Western North Carolina's Sunburst Trout. We're excited about this new healthy protein addition and are busy testing recipes that will incorporate fresh local fish.

Just to let you know what else we’ve been up to lately, here are a few statistics:  

• We’ve grown, gathered, cooked and served a total of 14,684 meals from March 24 through May 22. Then another 3,610 meals from May 25 to June 25. And 1,750 from June 8 through June 12. 

• In the past 30 days, we’ve purchased over $6300 worth of local products including 456 pounds of spring vegetables, 55 bushels of apples, 202 pounds of cheese, 175 pounds of cornmeal/flour, 225 dozen eggs and 140 pounds of beef. 

• Also, in the last 30 days, here’s some of what we’ve made:

429 gallons of soup and gumbo
200 pounds cooked rice
3200 portions of cornbread
1200 portions of lasange
160 pounds pasta salad
1200 portions of potato and beef gratin
125 gallons of coleslaw
45 gallons of carrot salad
800 portions of frittata on baked local grits
30 pounds of fresh salad

That’s a lot of love. 

Remember to focus on the joy of helping your neighbors. It will bring light into your life.