HotMeals4HOPE: Feeding WNC This Winter

As winter approaches, and emergency relief organizations begin to exit Western North Carolina, Bear's Foundation, the charitable arm of Bear's Smokehouse BBQ (Asheville, NC), recognizes the need to continue providing hot meals to the most heavily impacted communities.

Bear’s Foundation (aka Linked4Life) has announced a critical initiative to ensure uninterrupted meal service for residents of Western North Carolina (WNC) impacted by Hurricane Helene. Building on the successful emergency response efforts with World Central Kitchen (WCK), which delivered over 1.2 million meals to date, this project will address ongoing food insecurity as the region faces recovery challenges exacerbated by the winter season.

As emergency aid from WCK and the American Red Cross winds down in mid-December, Bear’s Foundation will lead a transition to a sustainable, community-driven solution. The initiative aims to provide 360,000 meals from January through March 2025 and lay the groundwork for long-term food security by empowering a local non-profit partner to meet both current needs and future crises.

“Disaster recovery doesn’t end with the initial response,” said Cheryl Antoncic Suess, co-owner of Bear’s Smokehouse and a resident of East Asheville. “As families grapple with ongoing displacement, economic instability, and cold weather, it’s vital that we step up to ensure no one is left behind. This initiative bridges the gap between emergency relief and sustainable, community-led food security.”

Key elements of the initiative include:

- Immediate Winter Feeding Effort: Delivering 4,000 meals daily across WNC communities, including Swannanoa, Black Mountain, Asheville shelters, and surrounding counties such as Yancey and Mitchell through March 2025.

- Long-Term Capacity Building: Equipping a local non-profit with the infrastructure, training, and operational capacity to sustain food security efforts for years to come.

- Scalable Model for Disaster Response: Developing a replicable framework to address future food crises in WNC and beyond.

The project budget of $2.1 million will support meal production, logistical coordination, and the establishment of a larger commercial kitchen for the selected non-profit partner. The identified partner, Equal Plates Project, has a proven track record in addressing food insecurity in WNC and is uniquely positioned to take on this role.

This GoFundMe page has been created by Cheryl Antoncic, Co-Owner of Bear's Smokehouse BBQ and Founder of Bear's Foundation. All funds raised will go directly to Bear's Foundation (a.k.a Linked4Life) to implement this initiative.