Our Award Winning Food Pantry!

Let's celebrate! Our Food Pantry was recently awarded the Farm Fresh Nourish Shared Purpose Award by Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C. for being part of their Farm Fresh Nourish program since its inception five years ago.

The award reads, “In heartfelt recognition of your steadfast partnership and enduring commitment to building a a nourishing, healthy community, we proudly honor your five years of participation. Through your dedication to connecting fresh, local food with neighbors across our region, you have helped cultivate more than just harvests—you have nourished dignity, strengthened well-being, and grown shared hope. Together, we are growing something truly extraordinary.”

Launched in 2020, Farm Fresh Nourish pairs local farmers with Second Harvest partner pantries to distribute produce shares to pantry patrons who have or live with someone who has prediabetes, diabetes, or heart-related issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. The program follows a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model and engages Second Harvest's Nutrition Educators to provide increased access to fresh local produce and health information for low-income households and to support local growers, who are integral to vibrant local food systems.

“We are so grateful to Second Harvest Food Bank for facilitating the Farm Fresh Nourish program and were eager to jump on board at the very beginning,” states Hospitality House of Northwest N.C. Food Service Coordinator Emily Lowe. “I have loved participating in this program, it is really rewarding to be part of something that provides fresh, local produce to our clients with chronic illnesses while also knowing that local farms like Springhouse Farm and Kornecopia Farm are being paid full value for the produce shares."

Prior to this, our Food Pantry achieved the Gold Nourishing Pantry Award after evaluation by Second Harvest Food Bank. Evaluations were made based on client choices for nutritious options, marketing of healthy products, a variety of options for fruits and vegetables, promotion of additional resources, and plans for alternate eating patterns. The food pantry assessments were designed to identify optimal practices for a wide range of pantries throughout the region.

The Food Pantry, located at our Brook Hollow Complex in Boone, is the only area pantry open seven days a week. Households from any area county who qualify for low-income assistance are eligible to shop three times per month, between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Food boxes are custom designed to last for four days depending on the size of the household. Food boxes include produce, dairy, fruit, meat, prepared foods, and healthy meal plan options. The pantry has readily available text-based nutrition education information and information particular to dietary restrictions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, gluten and other food allergies; as well as recipe cards fitting to these conditions.

In 2025:

• Our pantry distributed over 147,000 pounds of food to 977 households.

• 39% of pantry clients were first-time clients

• 21% received social security benefits

• 49% of all households had an income of less than $1,000 per month.​​​​​
  

Families are struggling right now with increased grocery, gas, and medical bills and we are witnessing it firsthand. The fact that such a high percentage of pantry clients are first time visitors is also telling, in that people who never thought they would need our services are now seeking assistance.

The pantry is stocked with weekly purchases from Second Harvest Food Bank, coordinated donations from Food Lion, harvests from our own Organic Gardens, Donation Station purchases from local farmers at the Watauga County Farmers Market, food drives by local organizations, and donations from community members, other local grocers, and restaurants.

The impact our Food Pantry and other food access programs have on our region is critical. For $1 every dollar you donate, we can purchase $5.26 worth of food from Second Harvest Food Bank. A contribution of $112 would provide 75 food boxes to families in need.

We invite you to join Our Food Story campaign and support our ongoing efforts to provide fresh, local, healthy food to our community seven days a week, 365 days a year.