Eight months after Tropical Storm Helene devastated Western North Carolina, hunger and food insecurity persist due to damaged infrastructure and reduced farm output. Many grocery stores remain closed, including Spruce Pine’s only supermarket, Ingles. The storm exacerbated preexisting food access challenges, especially for working-class residents already struggling with high living costs. Key food assistance programs face funding cuts: MANNA Foodbank will lose $1.3 million in USDA funds affecting local produce purchases, while the state plans to end the Healthy Opportunities Pilot. Proposed federal SNAP cuts threaten aid for thousands, risking deeper economic harm to families, local retailers, and farms still recovering from severe storm damage.
by Jane Winik Sartwell, Carolina Public Press June 6, 2025
Hunger and a lack of access to healthy food continues to plague parts of Western North Carolina, eight months since Tropical Storm Helene tore through the mountains.
The storm ripped apart bridges, roads and farmland. Even now, some cannot easily access grocery stores — the ones that are open, that is.
And without farms running at full capacity, less healthy local food is available to stock the shelves.
The cost of rebuilding, coupled with heightened unemployment, has left some in a state of economic precarity. In a time when the price of groceries is high, folks have to make difficult decisions about what kind of food to buy and when.
In Spruce Pine, the town’s lone grocery store, Ingles, still has not reopened, going past a promised deadline the company made publicly to reopen the location by May.
“The stigma around coming to us is gone,” Starli McDowell, who runs a food bank in Spruce Pine, told Carolina Public Press.
“Everybody comes.”
Even before the storm, rates of food insecurity were higher in Western North Carolina than in other parts of the state.
In 2021, about 20% of adults in the mountains reported having limited access to food, according to WNC Health Network. Statewide, NCDHHS put the number at 11%.
Healthy food and the lost province
The situation has only grown more dire since the storm.
“Up here, we are called the lost province,” said Maura McClain, of the Hunger and Health Coalition in Watauga County. “We’re isolated because of geography. For generations, we have seen this need from working-class individuals who are just not able to make ends meet.
“That’s been amplified by growth. It’s an expensive place to live. We’re seeing locals who have been here for generations who are not able to afford it anymore. That was before (Helene). Now, we’re seeing that even more.
“Those who are just on the cusp of surviving up here, they have been pushed over the edge. People who were a paycheck away, they’ve now tipped over that scale. Any money they make is going toward recovering from the flood, repairing their homes. There’s no money for food or medicine or anything else.”
Critical programs like food stamps are being threatened in Washington. Cuts to that program, currently up for debate between the House and Senate, would affect North Carolinians trying to get food on the table, as well as farms and food retailers across the state.
On the heels of Helene, Western North Carolina is at particular risk of having its food networks collapse.
Key state and federal dollars for major organizations in Western NC like MANNA Foodbank — which fed nearly 200,000 people in April alone — are already starting to disappear.
Trouble at MANNA and SNAP
Starting in September, MANNA Foodbank will lose $1.3 million from the US Department of Agriculture, gutting a program that allows them to buy produce from local farmers.
“That money allows farmers to get back on their feet,” said Micah Chrisman, spokesperson for MANNA. “It allows our neighbors in need to walk away with more than canned goods. We want to provide healthy, fresh produce, cheese and eggs in addition to rice and beans.”
What’s more, the proposed state budget does not provide any funding for the Healthy Opportunities Pilot, a state program dedicated to food, housing and transportation initiatives. The program is slated to end July 1.
MANNA was a partner organization in that program, which generated $1 million in revenue for Western NC farmers and provided boxes of healthy food for vulnerable people.
“This isn’t the time to be cutting access to healthy food and economic opportunities in a community that was so devastatingly hit by a natural disaster,” Chrisman said.
But even more dramatic cuts could be coming — in the form of $300 billion from food stamps.
New work reporting requirements for households with young children proposed in Congress could result in hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians losing their food assistance dollars.
“I’ve done this work for 36 years,” said Phillip Hardin, economic services director for Buncombe County, home to Asheville.
“I can’t say that I ever really remember it coming down to something like this.”
The rate of SNAP enrollment exceeds 10% of residents in many Western North Carolina counties. In some, such as Rutherford County, it nears 20%.
Some in Congress hope to pass the costs of the program off onto the state. There are few who believe the state has the resources to make meaningful contributions.
“When federal support is reduced, states may be forced to absorb more of the costs associated with food insecurity,” said Susan Epley, who works with the Rutherford County Department of Social Services.
“In turn, these costs often trickle down to counties — many of which, like ours, don’t have the funding to fully meet the increased demand.”
Farming anxiety
Cuts to SNAP have the potential to impact not just families, but the wider economy in the mountains.
By providing residents with dollars to spend on food, the SNAP program puts those dollars into the pockets of local retailers, and in turn, farmers.
Those farms need all the help they can get.
Farms tend to be located in the region’s fertile river bottoms, and when those rivers swelled and roared, they took crops, barns, bales of hay, miles of fencing, farm roads, cattle, farm equipment and acres of topsoil.
About 90% of Western North Carolina’s farms suffered severe damage, according to the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, or ASAP.
Now, with money from MANNA and SNAP on its way out, anxiety is higher than ever in the Western North Carolina farming community.
“Right now, it feels almost impossible for me to continue pursuing a career in farming,” one farmer told ASAP. “It’s breaking my heart.”
Still, some farmers are still able to contribute to local markets and get food onto tables.
When a new county-run market opened in April to serve the hard-hit Swannanoa area, the entire food supply was exhausted in 30 minutes, according to Leonard Jones, who runs the Buncombe County community markets. Normally, such markets operate for two hours.
Meanwhile, with so many roads still closed, families are still hiking back to their homes with grocery bags.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This article highlights economic hardship, food insecurity, and the impact of government program cuts in Western North Carolina, with a focus on vulnerable populations and support programs like SNAP and food banks. The framing emphasizes the negative consequences of reduced federal funding and policy decisions, which aligns with concerns typically raised by center-left perspectives advocating for social safety nets and public assistance. However, the article reports facts and includes quotes from various stakeholders without overt partisan language or editorializing, maintaining a largely factual tone while reflecting concerns more common to center-left viewpoints.
SUMMARY: Jim Jenkins, a North Carolina baseball trailblazer and Negro Leagues player, exemplified resilience and excellence both on and off the field. His sons recall his superior skills—hitting, running, and catching—and how he faced challenges due to his skin color. Beyond baseball, Jenkins was a community father, teaching youths fundamentals and helping those in need. He shared a friendship with legend Hank Aaron, often attending Braves games with his family. His legacy endures through his children, who honor not just his athletic achievements but his kindness and humanity, inspiring future generations to carry on his impact.
James “Jim” Jenkins had a profound impact on the game of baseball as a trailblazer known in the Carolinas.
SUMMARY: A scientist reflecting on the politicization of science warns that ideological influence undermines objectivity, breeds mistrust, and hampers public understanding. The FY2026 budget proposal cut NIH funding by about 40%, saving taxpayers $18 billion, but only 1.5% of the total federal budget, while increasing defense spending by 13%. These cuts severely impact states like North Carolina, where science drives $2.4 billion in tax revenue and thousands of jobs. The cuts target indirect costs vital for research infrastructure and diversity efforts, mistakenly seen as ideological rather than essential scientific practices. The author calls for unity to prioritize facts over politics and protect scientific progress for societal and economic health.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-06-15 02:01:00
North Carolina’s U.S. House members voted along party lines on two Republican-backed bills: the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1), which cuts \$1.6 trillion in government spending, and the “Rescissions Act of 2025” (H.R. 4), which eliminates \$9.4 billion from entities like USAID and public broadcasting. Republicans called it a purge of waste, citing spending on drag shows and foreign projects. Democrats criticized the cuts as harmful and symbolic, calling the effort fiscally irresponsible. H.R. 1 passed 215-214; H.R. 4 passed 214-212. No Democrats supported either. A few Republicans broke ranks and voted against their party on each bill.
(The Center Square) – North Carolinians in the U.S. House of Representatives were unwavering of party preference for two bills now awaiting finalization in the Senate.
Republicans who favored them say the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, known also as House Resolution 1, slashed $1.6 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse of government systems. The Rescissions Act of 2025, known also as House Resolution 4, did away with $9.4 billion – less than six-tenths of 1% of the other legislation – in spending by the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Corp. for Public Broadcasting (PBS, NPR), and other entities.
Democrats against them say the Department of Government Efficiency made “heartless budget cuts” and was an “attack on the resources that North Carolinians were promised and that Congress has already appropriated.”
Republicans from North Carolina in favor of both were Reps. Dr. Greg Murphy, Virginia Foxx, Addison McDowell, David Rouzer, Rev. Mark Harris, Richard Hudson, Pat Harrigan, Chuck Edwards, Brad Knott and Tim Moore.
Democrats against were Reps. Don Davis, Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams.
Foxx said the surface was barely skimmed with cuts of “$14 million in cash vouchers for migrants at our southern border; $24,000 for a national spelling bee in Bosnia; $1.5 million to mobilize elderly, lesbian, transgender, nonbinary and intersex people to be involved in the Costa Rica political process; $20,000 for a drag show in Ecuador; and $32,000 for an LGBTQ comic book in Peru.”
Adams said, “While Elon Musk claimed he would cut $1 trillion from the federal government, the recissions package amounts to less than 1% of that. Meanwhile, House Republicans voted just last month to balloon the national debt by $3 trillion in their One Big Ugly Bill. It’s fiscal malpractice, not fiscal responsibility.”
House Resolution 1 passed 215-214 and House Resolution 4 went forward 214-212. Republican Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky were against the One Big Beautiful Bill and Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Michael Turner of Ohio were against the Rescissions Act.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article presents a straightforward report on the partisan positions and voting outcomes related to two specific bills, highlighting the contrasting views of Republicans and Democrats without using loaded or emotionally charged language. It neutrally conveys the Republicans’ framing of the bills as efforts to cut waste and reduce spending, alongside Democrats’ critique of those cuts as harmful and insufficient fiscal discipline. By providing direct quotes from representatives of both parties and clearly stating voting results, the content maintains factual reporting without promoting a particular ideological stance. The balanced presentation of arguments and absence of editorializing indicate a commitment to neutrality rather than an intentional partisan perspective.
