125 S Lexington Ave, Suite 101 - 11, Asheville, NC 28801
SEED PROGRAMS INTERNATIONAL
Our Response to Hurricane Helene
Seed Programs International’s home base has been in Asheville, NC for years and many of our staff and board members have deep ties to Western North Carolina. Because much of our programmatic work focuses on crisis recovery, it is powerful, albeit very surreal, to be able to serve our own community.
Our team is working directly with existing efforts to ensure coordination instead of replication among our response. Our focus will be beyond emergency relief and will instead focus on immediate- and medium-term recovery for the region. We will primarily put our focus on the following areas:
Small Grants Fund
There are over 12,000 small farms in Western North Carolina, and many of them need help. Small grants will provide direct assistance to small farms, farmers, farm workers and farm-adjacent businesses. Local farming is an important feature to the region. We know that the entire value chain of the local food system has been disrupted, and everyone in the “food chain” needs support. This Fund will provide financial assistance to recipients to help recovery after lost crops, income, equipment, and land damage.
Assistance to Grassroots Efforts
Many grassroots efforts are working hard to support people in the community. We will partner with these efforts to improve the recovery effort. This includes an initiative to support farmers by buying remaining harvests at fair-market value and then donating the produce to food pantries and families in need and another initiative to support migrant farm workers that are likely to slip through the cracks of government assistance.
Connecting Farms to Resources
We will partner with local food growing initiatives to provide quality seed to help restart their growing efforts in the spring. This can include farmers, schools, seed libraries, and nonprofit food distribution organizations.
The devastation of Western North Carolina cannot be understated. It is going to take years to rebuild and recover from this once-in-a-thousand-year storm. Please consider contributing to our Helene Response here. If you are a business or larger donor that wants to discuss our giving strategy, please reach out to Georgia, at georgia.beasley@seedprograms.org
Interested in Donating?
Visit our donation page for our specific Hurricane Recovery Fund
Want to Learn More You Can Get Involved?
Seed Programs International is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates globally.
Our EIN/Tax ID is 56-2092576. Thank you for your support!
