Distribution of Checks to Cedar Mountain Businesses

Distribution of Checks to Cedar Mountain Businesses from a grant provided by The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, website https://cfwnc.org

The Cedar Mountain Community Center (CMCC) is supporting the restaurants that stepped up to provide food, help, and equipment to feed our community during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. After the hurricane cut our community off from roads, infrastructure, and even the internet, our local rescue workers and businesses went to work making sure everyone was accounted for, fed, and had their basic needs met.

Over this time, the community center became a hub. Not just because we had the lights on, thanks to a borrowed generator, or because we were feeding residents, rescue workers, and repair workers three meals a day, but because people needed to connect, share news, and find ways they could help others. Even as things improved, it was weeks before the entire mountain had power, and some driveways were still blocked by fallen trees.

For almost two weeks, the Cedar Mountain restaurants served three hot meals a day. They brought their food, equipment, expertise, and labor to ensure mountain residents had meals, snacks, drinks, and smiles. The Cedar Mountain Outpost, the Cedar Mountain Cafe, Creekside Market and Grill, Chef Val Gerdes of Brevard Pizza Works, Studio276, Cedar Mountain Canteen, Cedar Mountain Moonshine, and many others made significant contributions to the effort. These businesses received checks from a grant provided by The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.

The board of the CMCC is now working towards rebuilding and reopening the center so that it can continue, in the future, to serve as a hub to meet community needs, whatever those might be.