Help Well Seasoned Table Recover After Hurricane Helene

Hello friends of Well Seasoned Table,

At the end of September, Hurricane Helene swept across the southeast and caused significant destruction across Western North Carolina. We are very thankful that our team is safe and our workshop did not sustain any damage. Our thoughts are with the residents of our community, fellow farmers, collaborators, and small businesses that have been impacted. With the magnitude of Hurricane Helene's damage, please donate to life-saving community efforts first and foremost. However, if you have any additional funds to offer, we would be deeply grateful for your support.

The majority of Well Seasoned Table's employees were displaced (some temporarily, some permanently) due to damage to their homes and / or lack of electricity, water, cell service, and WIFI in the region. They also lost several weeks of work while Well Seasoned Table has been closed. Each of our employees also have varying unexpected financial needs following the hurricane. To see the shining faces that make Well Seasoned Table a spicy, sparkly place to work and thrive, please visit our Meet the Team page at: https://wellseasonedtable.com/pages/meet-the-team

During the storm our municipal water system was destroyed. Due to this, the businesses in this area that were not physically impacted have now taken a major financial hit. To make the situation more complex, we are a food business, so we have regulations that must be in place in order for us to operate. We have been unable to resume full operations due to lack of running potable water in our workshop. We made some adjustments at the workshop, and a couple of weeks ago were given the green light to resume non-production activities. Thankfully, this allows us to now pack product that had already been produced and to ship orders. We have also been working on two separate "emergency alternate water plans" to allow us to get back in production. Plan A: we use a well on the property (in another building) and transport water from the well to a 330 gallon water tote at the workshop. Plan B: we use obtained certified potable water transported in food-safe containers. There have been major hurtles with both of these plans, as well as significant financial costs. The good news is that we just got the official word from the Department of Agriculture that we can resume production next week! We are excited to get back in the kitchen and start making all of the seasonings, dusts, infused sugars & salts, and delicious hot yummy soothing beverages that you love!

Leaf Season in WNC is a big time for small business owners. This year is different. Many businesses and farms that were able to resume operations were closed for most of October (the busiest time of year for small businesses) due to a wide variety of circumstances. In order to pay our farmers and vendors next year, we rely heavily on sales between October and December. Because local tourism has been greatly impacted, we are concerned about the ability to sustain our small business and its needs for the coming months. Many of our wholesale accounts in the local community are not operational at this time, some experiencing catastrophic loss. Also, since we work with local farms (many who have lost their entire farm), we are scrambling to source ingredients we were waiting to receive from these farmers. We are working diligently to not only support our local community in the ways we are able to, but also navigate all of the additional complexities that come with resuming business.

Although our building is sound and our team strong, we need your financial assistance. Our commitment at Well Seasoned Table is to provide you with fresh, healthy, and delicious seasonings that bring a little magic into your kitchen. And we’ll always, always strive to build connections with communities around the table. We love what we do, and with your support, we can keep creating our very special "community sourced seasonings" loved by so many.

Thank you for your consideration, kindness, love, and generosity. We are very grateful for each and every one of you at the table with us!

Sarah Wickers and the Well Seasoned Table Team

About Us:

Well Seasoned Table

Candler, North Carolina

https://wellseasonedtable.com/

Our Story

Over 200 years ago, a seed was planted on a modest plot of rich, sun kissed land just outside of Asheville, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. That seed was a commitment to honor all of the native fruits, herbs, fungi, and flowers that flourish in this special place. This commitment, passed down through generations, has since grown into an obsession for wild and seasonal harvests that delight the senses and inspire a sense of magic in the everyday. Today, we bring the tastes of Appalachia to tables around the world, preserving the flavor of the seasons into thoughtfully crafted spice blends, infused sea salts & sugars, and teas for your table.

Our Mission

We’re on a mission to take some of the effort out of eating mindfully. That looks like bringing unique, farm-fresh, and wild harvested flavors to your table while honoring the magic of the seasons. Fostering a deeper connection between who we are and what we eat. Making your farm-to-table cooking experience a little simpler and a more delicious. Celebrating and honoring our beautiful community of Appalachia, family-owned farms, and the people who grow and make our food. We hope you’ll join us at the table.

Our Commitment

We’re committed to the farmers who grow our food, the earth that supports those harvests, and to all of you who invite us to your table. Our commitment to farmers includes working with small, family-run farms, utilizing by products of the harvest that were once viewed as waste, and to sourcing as close to our home in Appalachia as possible. Our commitment to sustainable care of our earth includes honoring the seasons and only offering seasonal ingredients when they are available (with an extended life, of course, through our thoughtful, chemical-free preservation processes.) Our ingredients are either certified organic, non-certified organic, or sustainably wildcrafted. And our commitment to you is to provide you with fresh, healthy, and delicious seasonings that bring a little magic into your kitchen. We’ll never compromise quality or flavor just to make a buck. And we’ll always, always strive to build connections with communities around the table.