ASHEVILLE – On Oct. 31, Mother Earth Food ended its home grocery delivery service operations. For more than a decade, the Asheville company had collaborated with more than 300 area farms to make food accessible to households across Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.
However, after a one-month hiatus and transitional period, Mother Earth Food will resume operations, albeit with a new owner at the helm and a new name.
On Dec. 1, Terramonga Farm, whose name was chosen to convey the message, “the Earth among us,” will carry on Mother Earth Food’s 13-year mission “to nourish the community through local, regenerative food systems and deep partnerships with local farms” by launching the Terramonga Hub.
Volunteers unload fresh fruit and vegetables off of a delivery truck at Barnardsville Baptist Church in Barnardsville, June 12, 2025.
“It feels incredibly special to have Terramonga Hub continue to steward this shared mission. It feels like a gift to pass the baton to owners who share the same core beliefs and values for local food resilience,” Andrea DuVall, CEO and co-founder of Mother Earth Food, stated in a news release distributed on Nov. 7.
Mother Earth Food’s closure was attributed to a combination of exacerbating issues, including losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tropical Storm Helene, and most recently, the termination of Medicaid’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot program, which provided funding for grocery and meal distribution in partnership with local nonprofits, according to DuVall’s newsletter distributed to customers and supporters on Oct. 7.
HOP ended on June 30, after not being included in the House and Senate’s proposed budgets for fiscal years 2025-2027, put forward by the N.C. General Assembly. According to DuVall, the budget cut resulted in the loss of more than 800 food boxes being distributed to the community.
Terramonga Farm in Fairview was established in 2018.
DuVall stated in the news release that Terramonga Hub will continue to work with small family farms to sustain the local food system.
“This transition honors that foundation while opening space for the service to evolve in new ways. The small farms that have nourished our community from the start will continue to do so, and the commitment to local food resiliency remains unwavering,” DuVall said.
Terramonga Farm, established by Elaina and Joe Sabbagin in Fairview in 2018, is a diversified farm that focuses on vegetable farming and the raising of sheep, chickens, pigs and cattle.
Take a bite out of the WNC food scene: Sign up for AVL Bites and Brews, our weekly food and drink newsletter here
The business also includes Terramonga Deli & Provisions, which opened in 2024, and sells the farm-raised meats, produce, baked goods and other retail food and beverage merchandise, as well as deli cuts and sandwiches.
“As one of the farms Mother Earth Food has sourced from in the past, we have always been aligned with their vision,” Joe Sabbag said in a news release. “When we learned of their closure, we saw an opportunity to carry that work forward. We will be relying on Mother Earth Food’s leadership as we begin this next chapter.”
Joe and Elaina Sabbag founded Terramonga Farm in Fairview in 2018.
Mother Earth Food’s staff will reportedly remain on board at Terramonga Hub “packing boxes, fulfilling orders and caring for the community.”
On Dec. 1, deliveries will resume to customers through the Terramonga Hub at terramongahub.com, where they may also sign up for the newsletter to receive updates on ordering, delivery and payment systems.
For more, follow Terramonga Hub at facebook.com/Terramongahub and @terramongahub on Instagram.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Tips, comments, questions? Email [email protected] or follow @PrincessOfPage on Instagram. Sign up for AVL Bites and Brews, our weekly food and drink newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Mother Earth closed amid Medicaid crisis, but a farm is bringing it back
