Partnerships Help BCS 'Fill a Need'

BCS Maintenance Department staff members pose in front of a U-Haul truck from Biltmore Church that is filled with produce boxes from Flavor 1st.

By Tim Reaves
BCS Communications Department

This year has shown what can happen when the community unites behind a common goal, linking resources to reach further than any one entity could.

On Thursday, two U-Haul trucks from Biltmore Church arrived at the BCS Central Office, loaded with 750 “farm-to-table” produce boxes from Mills River-based Flavor 1st Growers and Packers. BCS Maintenance Department staff transferred the produce to BCS box trucks and drove them to mobile home parks and apartment complexes across the county. Featuring hearty and healthy items like zucchini, green bell peppers, Henderson County apples, and rotisserie chicken, the boxes will help ensure children have access to healthy meals while the school system is closed for Winter Break.

“We’re filling a need and filling some bellies,” said FRC Resource Coordinator Kay Smith. “We are so privileged to have these great community partners that can come together to make it happen.”

BCS Migrant Education Program staff and Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officers set up at the distribution sites, smiling behind masks as they handed the produce boxes to grateful families.

Biltmore Church Missions Pastor Curt McClure said his church is delivering 2,000 boxes across the region in response to rising food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other recipients include Henderson County Schools, Macon County Schools, and Transylvania County Schools.

“We have a philosophy to reach up, reach in, and reach out,” he said. “We want to tell people ‘Merry Christmas’ and meet a need. This is a way to love on the community.”

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