Bountiful Cities

Mission:

Bountiful Cities is an Asheville based long-term food security and food access nonprofit. Our urban agriculture and culinary programs build skills that last a lifetime while promoting social justice, community resilience, and food sovereignty. We envision thriving communities where everyone has access to abundant, fresh, locally grown food. We manage and steward food forests, public gardens, and all the public school gardens throughout the city.

Bountiful Cities promotes a shared exchange of knowledge and experience by role modeling and providing inspiring events, programming, and experiential education through the following programs:

• FEAST (Fresh, Easy, Affordable, Sustainable, Tasty): Public school-based garden and culinary education.  Since 2009, the FEAST program has partnered with local schools and after school programs to empower youth and their families to grow, prepare and enjoy fresh healthy food. 
• Garden Network: A system of about 30 gardens, coordinated by Bountiful Cities staff and connected through shared communications, meetups, garden workdays, workshops, volunteer recruitment, and resources such as tool and seed libraries and shared financial development. 
• Pearson Garden Food Hub supports the growing and distribution of food and food producing plants to the school gardens we manage and to community gardens and individuals who have requested support. It is also a resource for community gatherings, education, and food production. 
•  Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council (ABFPC) is a community-based coalition in Buncombe County, North Carolina committed to policy improvements that create healthier food environments and improve healthy food access for all Buncombe County residents. Whether viewed through the lens of poverty, public health, local commerce, or sustainability, access to affordable, healthy, locally sourced food is crucial to our region’s success.
• Community Collaborative Projects: Participation in multiple intersectional collaborative initiatives aimed at improving regional food security, increasing the health of residents of Asheville and Buncombe County.