WNC Communities – Supporting farmers and neighbors in need Hurricane Helene Grantee Spotlight
In the weeks following Hurricane Helene, Dogwood invested more than $70 million in relief and recovery grants to strategic partners across Western North Carolina. As the region marks six months since the storm, Dogwood is proud to highlight the work of partner WNC Communities, which helped support both farmers and neighbors in need.
Rooted in the belief that local people are best at solving local problems, WNC Communities wasted no time in the days following Hurricane Helene to connect farm businesses and community centers with immediate resources. Since 1949, the organization has worked to empower local people to cultivate the vitality and prosperity of the region through collaboration and agricultural opportunities.
As one of Dogwood’s early strategic partners in relief and recovery efforts, WNC Communities Executive Director Jennifer Ferre said time was of the essence in empowering both of these critical networks – farmers and community centers – across the region. “These are groups that can sometimes be overlooked because they’re small, but together they’re big – they’re a force to be reckoned with,” Ferre remarked.
Farm Business Grants
Moving quickly for farmers was especially vital. Often, the disruption caused by a sudden natural disaster – no matter how temporary – can shutter farm businesses.
“We needed to get resources into the hands of those who needed them most, quickly,” Ferre explained. “We needed to help farmers keep people on payroll, clean up their farms and replace damaged equipment to stay in business.”
Thanks to a vetted regional network grounded in a 75-year history, WNC Communities rapidly deployed nearly $2 million in Dogwood grant funds to farm businesses in Western North Carolina. Altogether, 344 grants were awarded in the 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary area served by Dogwood to help preserve the livelihoods of working farmers.
Looking Glass Creamery in Columbus, NC was one such grantee, where Jennifer and Andy Perkins operate a dairy farm and cheesemaking facility. Power outages immediately compromised their ability to milk cows and ruined ice cream inventory. Additionally, the on-farm store was closed for two weeks in a time when the business is typically busiest, and wholesale restaurant customers stopped placing orders.
“The impact to our business has been very substantial and was nearly catastrophic for us,” Jennifer Perkins said. “We dried up the cows immediately because our business was cut in half, and we had nowhere to sell the product we were making,” she continued. “We scrambled to add new sales outlets and picked up four farmers markets which was a total shift for our business.”
Perkins said that the grant from WNC Communities helped her business stay financially afloat, providing a glimmer of hope that all was not lost as well as encouragement to persevere to spring. “Without the support of WNC Communities at such a dire time, I am not sure we would have made it through,” she said.
Supporting Community Centers
In communities across the region that were isolated by a power and communication blackout, local community centers and clubhouses were some of the first physical locations to open to neighbors and residents in need of help. WNC Communities leveraged Dogwood funds to help these centers serve community members with greater efficiency and effectiveness as distribution hubs.
“We knew there were going to be immediate needs that no other resources would fulfill. That was the gap, and that was the goal,” Ferre said.
A total of $337,294 in grants was awarded to 16 community centers to purchase shelving and other infrastructure to help local people familiar with their communities to hand out water, food, hygiene items and other essentials. Funding was also used to help repair some community centers that were damaged by the storm.
Out of 73 centers in the WNC Communities network, 27 ended up being hubs in communities for immediate local disaster relief. Typically “staffed” by local volunteers, these hubs provided an additional advantage. Here, neighbors looked after neighbors. Residents knew of distinct household needs and identified areas where supplies might need to be delivered.
“This is the perfect example of local people solving a local problem. Community centers are the lifeblood of their communities,” Ferre emphasized. “In the counties where community centers acted as hubs, people fared better than those counties without community centers. It became a spotlight on the role that community centers can play.”
While the storm has passed, Ferre stressed that WNC Communities will continue to support farm businesses and community centers to be successful and resilient in the event of future emergencies. “What community development is all about is helping people to help themselves. What we can do is help them to figure it out.”