Who is involved in Food Connection?
A bit of history
AVL Ride (formerly Asheville Taxi)
AVL Ride (formerly Asheville Taxi)
Flori Pate, co-founder of Dig Local, aka "Asheville's App," co-founded Food Connection in December of 2014 in partnership with Mary Evans from Packs Tavern, Buzz Durham from Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Woody McKee from AVL Ride and Amy Cantrell from BeLoved Asheville. Since its inception Food Connection has rescued well over 250,000 fresh meals to feed those in need.
AVL Ride (formerly Asheville Taxi)
AVL Ride (formerly Asheville Taxi)
AVL Ride (formerly Asheville Taxi)
Woody McKee, owner of AVL Ride helped launch Food Connection in Asheville by providing transportation services to move the meals via his ride service. We could not have experienced such success without him! Next time you need a cab in Asheville, use his service. Call or text 828-333-1976
UNCA
AVL Ride (formerly Asheville Taxi)
Food Donor Partners
Pulled pork, tempeh, butternut squash, quinoa and kale salad, roasted chicken- These are just some of the meals we've picked up from UNCA. Since launching our partnership in 2015, tens of thousands of pounds of fresh, healthy food have been delivered to those in need in Asheville. This is an ongoing partnership.
Food Donor Partners
Food Recipient Partners
Food Donor Partners
• Packs Tavern
(pictured, Chef Edwin and Mary Evans, co-founder)
• Celine & Company
* UNC Asheville
• The Omni Grove Park Inn
• Deerfield Retirement Center
• Ridgecrest Conference Center
• Givens Highland Farms
• Christmont• Montreat Conference Center*
• YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly
• The Crest Center/ M7 Solutions
• The Collider
• Mars Hill University
• Sierra Nevada
• Bouchon
• Smash Events, Inc.
• Buxton Hall
• Twisted Laurel
• The Capital Club
* Dining Innovations
• The Funkatorium
* The Wedge at Foundation
• 12 Bones
• Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack
• U.S. Cellular Center
• Cooking with Comedy Catering
• 67 Biltmore
Food Recipient Partners
Food Recipient Partners
Food Recipient Partners
• MusicWorks! After School Program
• Trinity Place Shelter for Runaway Youth
• Beloved Asheville
• Veterans Restoration Quarters
• East Asheville Welcome Table
• WNC Rescue Ministries
• Haywood Street Respite Center
• MusicWorks! After School Program
• Asheville High School Homeless Student Education Group
• Salvation Army of Buncombe County
• Church of the Advocate at Trinity
• Blue Ridge Apartments for Seniors with Bounty & Soul
• Black Mountain Home for Children
• Black Mountain Welcome Table
• Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministries "Hope For Tomorrow"
• Latina Zumba with Bounty & Soul• ESL Class with Bounty & Soul
• VFW of Black Mountain
Community Supporters
Food Recipient Partners
Food Recipient Partners
• Wicked Weed Brewing
• Parsec Financial
• Episcopal Diocese of WNC
* The Community Foundation
of Western North Carolina
• Dig Local Asheville
• Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
* St. James Episcopal Church of Black Mtn.
• St. James Foundation
• New Belgium Brewing
• Chiesa
• Celine & Company
• Biltmore Wines
• Geraldine's Bakery
• Aloft Hotel
• Signarama
• Bank of America
• Leslie Sharpe - Berkshire Heights
• The French Broads V2V
• Will Run for Food V2V
• Sierra Nevada
• B.B. Barns
• The Rotary Club of Asheville
• Black Mountain Rotary Club
• Cultivated Cocktails
• The Foundry Hotel Asheville
• Urban Gastronome
• Pleb Urban Winery
• TOPO Organics
• The Chemist
• Hillman Beer
• Devils Foot Beverage Company
• Oak City Amaretto
• Mountain Madre
• Chai Pani
• Blue Dream Curry House
• Ziggy's Bakery & Deli
• Copper Crown
• Carolina Holistic Health
• The Bridge Foundation of WNC
• Monogram Asheville
• Leicester Welcome Table
• The Community Foundation of WNC
• Black Mountain Rotary Club
• Kiwanis Club of Black Mountain
• Black Mountain Ale House
• Black Mountain Brewing
About Asheville
Thriving culinary scene. Poverty and hunger. Connecting the dots.
People travel from all over the world to experience the eclectic vibe of Asheville, NC. We have the mountains, a thriving arts & music scene, James Beard Award winning chefs... It is a hot destination for vacations, conferences, weddings and more.
In the shadows, there is a much bleaker image where 1 in 4 children do not know where their next meal is coming from. This is what you don't see on the glossy magazine covers promoting tourism in our city.
Food Connection was born in Asheville around the holiday season in 2014 to help bridge the disconnect between caterers with too much food, to nonprofit partners in need of food. We're not asking chefs to make special meals for us, we're just simply asking that they not trash or compost any meals that happen to be left at the end of an event or meal.
Now, gourmet meals that were filling our local landfills are filling bellies instead. Meals are going to those living on the streets through BeLoved Asheville, our heroes at the Veterans Restoration Quarters, the children at Trinity Place Shelter for Runaway Youth, the folks at the free meal every Thursday at the East Asheville Welcome Table, and more.
We continue to believe that NO fresh food should ever end up in the trash while people go hungry, especially Asheville's gourmet "Foodtopia" food.
It makes so much sense and we are honored to help with the connecting part.
Do you have surplus food that's going in the trash or compost?
Please help us expand our mission of keeping Asheville's delicious gourmet food out of the local landfills. There are ways for your business to begin donating fresh food right away while feeding our neighbors in need.