Local businesses support Bounty & Soul initiative

National Nutrition Month partnerships raise money through March

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 8, 2022

Mellie Mac’s Garden Shack is one of several local businesses partnering with Bounty & Soul for National Nutrition Month. Customers can donate to the local nonprofit organization in the flower pot decorated by students in the Art in the Afternoon program when they shop at the nursery. Photo by Fred McCormick

An assortment of Black Mountain businesses are showing their support this month for local nonprofit organization, Bounty & Soul.

The initiative, in recognition of National Nutrition Month, offers a range of opportunities allowing locals to get involved.

Since 1973, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has used the month of March to highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The campaign was designed to provide nutritional education to the public, while raising awareness about the long-term benefits of diet and exercise. 

Black Mountain-based Bounty & Soul has been connecting, sharing, and celebrating nutritious food, education and community since its founding in 2014. The organization offers an array of resources focused on health and wellness and provides fresh produce to the community, at no charge, through its Produce to the People markets, held every Tuesday and Friday in the parking lot of 205 N.C. 9. 

Nine local businesses are holding promotions benefiting Bounty & Soul this month, while other organizations have already contributed. 

In downtown Black Mountain, BAD Craft will give a percentage from each “pint of the week” sold through the month of March, and is offering 10% off local art for anyone who mentions Bounty & Soul. 

Next door on Cherry Street, Mountain Fairy Hair is donating a percentage of all sales this month, encouraging customers to “get your sparkle on.”

Just up the road, Black Mountain Kitchen & Ale House will contribute $1 from every pint sold on Thursdays to Bounty & Soul. The restaurant hosted an outdoor seed-packing party, organized by another local nonprofit organization, PubCorps, during the last week of February. 

Over in Broadway Avenue, Cousins Cuban Café will leverage the popularity of its Santiago Bowls to support the initiative, donating a percentage of sales from the menu item through March. 

Neighboring downtown businesses, Mountain Fairy Hair and BAD Craft are donating a percentage of sales in the month of March to Black Mountain-based nonprofit organization Bounty & Soul. Photo by Fred McCormick

Customers at Open Oven Bakery, tucked away on Church Street, can support the initiative by ordering a Sunny Day from the menu. The restaurant will contribute $1 to Bounty & Soul every time the menu item is purchased. 

If delectable pastries and fresh coffee are a must-have in the morning, a stop at Dough House on West State Street will also help the local nonprofit. The vegan shop will give 10 cents from each doughnut sold in recognition of National Nutrition Month. 

On the east side of town, Fresh Wood Fired Pizza will host a Dine Out Day, Wednesday, March 23. The South Ridgeway Avenue restaurant is designating a portion of the proceeds to Bounty & Soul. 

Along Black Mountain Avenue, two businesses are throwing their support behind the National Nutrition Month campaign. Foothills will give 15% from Blue Plate Specials purchased every Sunday this month. 

Nearby, as gardeners begin their early spring trips to Mellie Mac’s Garden Shack to pick up their plants, customers can drop off donations to support Bounty & Soul’s UGrow program and garden. A flower pot, created by the children at the local after school program Art in the Afternoon, marks the collection spot. 

Nine local businesses, including Mellie Mac’s Garden Shack on Black Mountain Avenue, are holding events and promotions this month in support of Bounty & Soul. Photo by Fred McCormick

Other events will also coincide with National Nutrition Month, as Bounty & Soul will offer a series of free classes at St. James Episcopal Church on West State Street. 

A family cooking class, which focuses on creating healthy sauces using a bike-powered blender, will be held from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 14. A food yoga class, educating participants on how to stretch their produce, will be held at the same time the following Monday. The last class, held at 6:30 p.m., Monday, March 28, will offer lessons for cultivating oyster mushrooms at home. 

An array of organizations, including the Black Mountain Neuro-Medical Treatment Center, the Unitarian Church of the Swannanoa Valley, Montreat College, Christ Community Church and the Verner Early Learning Center are lending their support by hosting Healthy Food & Fund Drives.