Food Connection and Black Mountain Home awarded $325,000 in Chick-fil-A grants

Chick-fil-A awarded a combined $325,000 to two Asheville-area nonprofits to shore up food access and support disaster recovery in Buncombe County. Food Connection received $200,000 to bolster its mobile meal work, and Black Mountain Home received $125,000 to repair and rebuild after a landslide.

Food Connection, described as “an organization that works to reduce hunger and food waste,” will use the $200,000 “to continue food deliveries in remote areas, expand volunteer resources, and serve more households.” The funding aims to sustain routes that take prepared meals and rescued food into mountain hollows and other hard-to-reach pockets of Buncombe County, where transportation barriers, limited grocery access, and fixed incomes can deepen food insecurity. Maintaining and expanding volunteer capacity, fuel and vehicle needs, and coordination systems will be critical to converting the grant into reliable, ongoing service for homebound residents.

Black Mountain Home, “a permanent shelter for children of all ages,” will use its $125,000 “to support recovery efforts following a devastating landslide caused by Helene.” The landslide destroyed “a large building that housed the home’s cafeteria and meeting space, as well as summer cabins used by youth groups for charitable mission work.” The loss of communal eating and program spaces at the shelter not only disrupted daily operations but also removed facilities that hosted visiting groups and volunteers who supplement direct care and enrichment for children. On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Black Mountain Home President Jimmy Harmon accepted the grant from Larry Meadows, the longtime south Asheville Chick-fil-A franchise owner (Photo courtesy: Chick-fil-A).

The local awards are part of a broader Chick-fil-A effort. Chick-fil-A says it has awarded more than $6 million in grants to 56 nonprofits nationwide through its Inspiration Grant Program, a funding stream that has supported community projects across multiple regions. For Buncombe County, the injections target two complementary aspects of community wellbeing: immediate food access and long-term child welfare infrastructure.

Public health implications are tangible. Expanded mobile meal deliveries help reduce emergency food visits, support chronic disease management by ensuring regular nutrition, and relieve pressure on overstretched food pantries. Rebuilding Black Mountain Home’s cafeteria and meeting spaces restores a safe setting for children and preserves capacity for visiting volunteers and mission groups that contribute staffing, mentorship, and program enrichment.

For residents, the grants mean steadier meal service for remote households and accelerated recovery for a children’s shelter that serves vulnerable youth. Local officials, funders, and volunteers will play key roles in turning the awards into concrete services. In the weeks ahead, community members should watch for announcements from Food Connection and Black Mountain Home about expanded routes, volunteer needs, and reconstruction timelines as both organizations put the funding to work.