SWANNANOA, N.C. -- U.S. Highway 70 is the main road through Swannanoa, a small town in western North Carolina, and it's still a mess almost nine months after Hurricane Helene hit. There are piles of debris and buildings without windows and roofs. Most of the businesses that line the highway are still closed. Many may never reopen.
But on a side street in a church parking lot, about two dozen people are lined up holding grocery bags. They are waiting for Bounty and Soul, a local nonprofit.
Shelly Dickerson, comes here religiously every week to pick up free fresh produce and other foods.
"I've got some yellow squash, apples. Garlic, potatoes, kale, tomatoes, lemons," she explains as she's walking to her car with two shopping bags filled with produce and other foods.
Dickerson lives in Swannanoa with her husband and daughter. She says having access to fresh produce, "it's been really nice." She says she can't say enough good things about Bounty and Soul.
"This has been really a godsend," Dickerson says, especially because the only grocery store in Swannanoa got shut down after Hurricane Helene.
"Today was a little exceptional. We got extra veggies, fruit, we got some grapes, and they usually always have some type of bread," she said.
Nearly nine months since Helene hit, another hurricane season has gotten underway. But in western North Carolina, many people are still struggling to recover from last year.
Residents say they have few options for fresh produce and that's why many are waiting patiently in line. Food items are going quickly though volunteers and employees with Bounty and Soul keep swapping empty produce crates for full ones.
Before Helene, the nonprofit procured produce from local farms, but many in western North Carolina were heavily affected by the storm. Today, Bounty and Soul buys produce from outside the area and distributes it in communities where it's needed, like Swannanoa.
Paula Sellers, Bounty and Soul's deputy director, says that after a storm it is especially important for people to take good care of themselves.
"They need to restore their health. They need to restore their households, and they really need to restore a sense of order and connectivity with their neighbors," Sellers says.
She walks around greeting people and overseeing the operation.
"Swannanoa is a food desert," Seller says, "fresh food in this little Swannanoa region is very difficult to come by. The Ingles grocery store that is located in Swannanoa did get flooded out. They had major impacts and it's unclear if or when they are going to restore that store to functionality."
The grocery store chain Ingles tells NPR via e-mail that it's "working on plans" but still has no timeline for when or if it will reopen its store here.
Sellers says Bounty and Soul will be in Swannanoa for as long as it's needed, "prior to the storm, one in six adults and one in five children in western North Carolina was food insecure."
And now, she says it's worse. Many here don't have homes, vehicles and jobs.
Across the street from the church parking lot where Bounty and Soul is parked, a small local bakery, Blunt Pretzel, is still serving free daily meals to residents.
Christopher Smith lives nearby with his wife and soon after the storm, they stumbled onto Blunt Pretzel as they were looking for water, he says.
"And I looked down the hill and here was Blunt Pretzels, smoke billowing off the grills. And I smelled pretzels in the air. And I saw a line of people that were just kind of like, oh, my goodness, there's food and water here."
Smith started as a volunteer and soon found himself working alongside staff from World Central Kitchen preparing meals for his community. World Central Kitchen eventually left. But it gave Blunt Pretzel a blueprint on how to add a nonprofit they call Blunt Kitchen.
"A lot of people think it's over. It's not," Smith says with a tinge of frustration in his voice, "there's a lot of people still in need here. And if you look at this line, I mean, that's a testament to it. These people are here for food because they need it," he says pointing to the Bounty and Soul line, across the street.
The whole recovery process, whether it's jobs or food or housing, is going slow and many nonprofits have moved on, but residents are still in need, Smith says.
He says many residents find themselves juggling their lives, since Helene almost nine months later, difficult.
"Maybe their employer was washed into the river or cannot sustain because they don't have enough business. So, they're underemployed or unemployed and just need one or two meals so they could pay their light bill. There's different angles to look at how feeding somebody could be helpful."
Smith says that he would have never imagined cooking for residents almost nine months after the storm.
"Thanksgiving was supposed to be our last hurrah. Then it was Christmas. Then it was New Year. We just did Easter," there is still a need he emphasizes.
The rest of the country may have moved on from last year's hurricane season. But in western North Carolina, and especially in Swannanoa, the lines of people getting free food are an indication recovery from Helene still has a long way to go.
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