Local residents take action against food insecurity
Bounty & Soul receives community support during Hunger Action Month
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 18, 2020
Surrounded by volunteers, Stephanie Sulzman, right, presents a check for $600 to Bounty & Soul founder and executive director Ali Casparian on Sept. 8. The money was raised through Art In the Afternoon, a Black Mountain-based after-school program that emphasizes creativity and collaboration for elementary school children. Photo by Fred McCormick
The harsh reality of food insecurity is one that millions of Americans in communities across the country contend with daily. While many take their next meal for granted, others are unsure of where it will come from.
Each September, Hunger Action Month serves as a call to arms in the battle against the crisis, and local residents are answering by supporting one Black Mountain nonprofit organization fighting on the front lines.
Taking action against hunger is an everyday commitment for Bounty & Soul, which provides healthy food options, at no charge, to hundreds of area residents through its weekly produce markets. Staffed primarily by volunteers, the effort is a key component of the organization’s mission to “connect people to food, education and each other.”
Founded by Ali Casparian in 2014, Bounty & Soul has since distributed over 2 millions pounds of food to nearly 200,000 participants. Its programs offer health and wellness education and information, as well access to a wide range of free services.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in demand for the markets, which are now held each Tuesday and Friday in the former BiLo parking lot in Black Mountain, the crisis highlighted the pivotal role the organization plays in the region for Stephanie Sulzman and Libba Tracy.
Local children raise money for Bounty & Soul
Sulzman operates Art In the Afternoon, a Black Mountain-based afterschool program with an emphasis on creativity and collaboration. Each year, AIA holds an auction featuring art produced by the elementary students enrolled in the program. The funds generated by the event are donated to nonprofit organizations in the area, and this year Sulzman selected Bounty & Soul.
“We took some of the children to one of their markets in the summer of 2019,” said Sulzman. “It definitely left an impression on all of us. I was really impressed with the way everything was arranged; it feels like you’re at a farmer’s market and so much care goes into the presentation. A lot of the kids commented on how happy the people that were participating in the market were. I pretty much knew immediately that this was an organization we should support.”
Like many local businesses, Sulzman was forced by the pandemic to temporarily close her doors in March, and the eighth annual AIA auction would not be able to return to its traditional location in the Black Mountain Library. However, she remained committed to supporting Bounty & Soul.
“I decided to promote a featured piece on Facebook since we couldn’t hold our opening and silent auction in person,” she said. “I started looking through the work the kids had done before the pandemic and I found the perfect piece to feature.”
Ginger Boyd holds up a painting created by children in the Art In the Afternoon program. Prints of the piece were auctioned off to raise money for Bounty & Soul. Courtesy photo
Sulzman offered prints of a painting, created by several children in the program, that featured a blue and green globe with a colorful message: “We Are All In This Together.”
“I really felt like it was a fitting message for the times we’re living in,” she said. “And, by promoting it on Facebook, it reached people locally and beyond.”
She sold around 30 prints on a sliding scale of $10 - $20, raising $600 for Bounty & Soul. Sulzman presented a ceremonial check, designed by AIA students, to Casparian on Sept. 8.
“We are so thankful to Stephanie and the children in her program,” Casparian said. “We rely on support from the community, so to have an organization like Art In the Afternoon come together to do this is pretty special.”
Tracy creates mugs with a special mission
The pandemic also inspired Tracy to turn to art as a means to uplift the community in a time of crisis. The resident ceramic artist at the Odyssey Center in the River Arts District found comfort in working with clay in the early weeks of quarantine and began producing 100 intricately designed mugs. As she learned about the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chain, Tracy partnered with Black Mountain Center for the Arts to launch “Mugs on a Mission,” a fundraiser to benefit Bounty & Soul.
Ceramic artist Libba Tracy launched Mugs on a Mission in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fundraiser, which benefits Bounty & Soul, features mugs that can be purchased through the Black Mountain Center for the Arts. Photo by Fred McCormick
“I reached out to the Community Foundation of WNC and asked what was the biggest need related to the pandemic,” Tracy said. “They told me food, hands down.”
Featured in the lobby of the Arts Center, the mugs can be purchased for $50 each. Mugs on a Mission has sold approximately 80 mugs and raised more than $2,000 for Bounty & Soul. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Black Mountain Center for the Arts.
“It’s been really fulfilling,” Tracy said of the fundraiser. “It gave me an opportunity to do what I know how to do and make some kind of difference. Obviously, Bounty & Soul is a tremendous organization and the fact that it’s in our corner of the world is a great thing.”
“Like a family”
Angela Seltzer began attending Bounty & Soul markets a little over a year ago.
“They really have become like a family to me and my daughter since then,” she said.
A single mother, Seltzer sought to transition to a plant-based diet, but the cost of healthy food was prohibitive.
“I started attending classes with Bounty & Soul and my daughter was participating in the children’s cooking classes,” she said. “It was really important to me to find food that my body needed, and Bounty & Soul is my primary source for those ingredients.”
The Swannanoa resident not only found valuable information on health and wellness, she also discovered a community of volunteers and clients that care about one another.
“It’s truly been a blessing,” she said. “Not only am I getting food that is good for me, but I’m also teaching my daughter healthy eating habits. She loves broccoli, onions and kale now, and those are all things we are able to get through Bounty & Soul.”
Max Mandler was introduced to the organization when he was a student at Warren Wilson College. After attending the markets for years, he began volunteering with Bounty & Soul at the onset of the pandemic.
“I found myself with more free time, and I knew there was this great need in the community,” he said. “I wanted to help with that.”
Mandler volunteers every Tuesday, delivering boxes of food and locally sourced produce to the line of cars that snakes through the lot.
“I have experienced other food distribution programs, and I have nothing but good things to say about them,” he said. “What I notice that’s different about Bounty & Soul is its focus on locally grown plant-based food. But, one thing that really stands out to me is the sense of community and camaraderie; it really feels like family.”