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SWANNANOA – “Miserable,” “aggravation” and a sense the community “deserves better” and “deserves answers.” These are some of the feelings Swannanoa residents have since the community’s only grocery store closed in late September after Tropical Storm Helene.
The store’s closure means some trips to get fresh produce and food can now take well over an hour in travel time, residents told the Citizen Times, while local nonprofits and the county government have been working to fill in the gap. Without clear communication over the building’s future, Swannanoa residents are frustrated as they look for food elsewhere. Some have limited access to fresh groceries.
Over six months after Tropical Storm Helene hit Western North Carolina, the Ingles in Swannanoa remains closed as residents report being “miserable” waiting for it to reopen. April 7, 2025.
Bounty & Soul, a Swannanoa-based nonprofit focused on providing fresh foods to those facing food insecurity, has seen a 280% increase in food distribution, now serving around 34,000 people a month, according to Executive Director Ali Casparian.
“With the Ingles closed, there is no grocery store within eight to 10 miles,” Casparian said. “Certainly, the need for food has been an issue for residents.”
A 2019 analysis from the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates 353 areas in the state fall under the federal definition of a “food desert,” meaning they are more than 1 urban mile or 10 rural miles away from the closest grocery store. Some examples of food deserts include areas of Southside in downtown Asheville, the West Asheville unincorporated community of Emma and most of the town of Woodfin.
Over six months after Tropical Storm Helene hit Western North Carolina, the Ingles in Swannanoa remains closed as residents report being “miserable” waiting for it to reopen. April 7, 2025.
Areas of Swannanoa are likely now a food desert. For some residents along Bee Tree Road, one of the most storm-impacted areas in Buncombe County, the closest grocery store might be up to 11 miles away.
Maureen Berner, a professor at UNC’s School of Government who studies food deserts, said two major factors regarding food deserts include access and transportation. Natural disasters put pressure on both.
“It’s particularly important when you have something like the hurricane or national disaster which does away with the main distribution point and there’s not a capacity to set something up new,” Berner said. “It’s sort of like: What do you do?”
For many residents, they might try to get to the closest Ingles or a similar store. The drive is about 13 minutes to the Black Mountain Ingles from Swannanoa, but depending on the starting point, a short trip can turn into 45 minutes.
Many low-income residents might not have cars, Berner noted, and need to ride the bus, further limiting travel. The Asheville to Swannanoa to Black Mountain route, the only one that runs to the Black Mountain Ingles only runs once every two hours.
Produce is organized before a Bounty & Soul food drive in Swannanoa, October 23, 2024.
“Not only do you have to wait on the buses, you are limited in terms of how much you can buy and what you can buy,” Berner said. Financial options for delivery services might not be available as some residents might not be able to afford additional surcharges, Berner said.
Ingles Chief Financial Officer Pat Jackson told the Citizen Times April 9 the company is “working on plans” for the Swannanoa Ingles. Still, she had no clear answers on when or how the building will return.
Ingles still has stores closed in Morganton and Spruce Pine. The company lost an estimated $35 million in property and inventory during Helene and $55 million to $65 million in revenue in the three-week period immediately after the storm, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Unfortunately, we do not have an official start date at this time,” Jackson told the Citizen Times via email. Jackson did not respond to further requests for comment or provide a timeline for reopening.
Ingles owns the U.S. Postal Service office next to the grocery chain’s Swannanoa location. It is unclear whether the building will be rebuilt. April 7, 2025.
‘Our community deserves better than silence’
Buncombe County Commissioner and Swannanoa-native Jennifer Horton has also been frustrated by the lack of communication from Ingles.
She took to Facebook the week of April 7 stating she would file a letter to the company seeking clarity for the future of the property, which also includes Swannanoa’s U.S. Postal Service building. Residents have had to make a 30-minute trip to the Merrimon Avenue post office since Helene. The letter has received the support of other commissioners, she said.
Jennifer Horton, Buncombe County Commissioner for District 1, spoke at the International Women’s Day march on March 8, 2025.
“So far, there has been no clear communication from Ingles about whether or when these services will return, and, quite frankly, our community deserves better than silence,” Horton told the Citizen Times.
County staff have also not been given any timeline for the building’s repair, county spokesperson Lillian Govus told the Citizen Times April 10, despite the company obtaining the requisite permits to rebuild.
Relief efforts continue as trucks are loaded with food supplies at the Bounty & Soul warehouse in Swannanoa, N.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.
Bounty & Soul offers fresh produce at 10 weekly pop-up markets around the region, with half in the Swannanoa Valley.
“There is so much uncertainty,” Casparian said. “And then you put on top of that Helene and then you put on top of that Swannanoa where there is no grocery store and we’re seeing a great need.”
On April 9, the nonprofit held a sunny afternoon market at the former Swannanoa United Methodist Church where residents came out in droves to pick up fresh potatoes, cabbage and dry goods. The line snaked around the church building and down a staircase to where the nonprofit runs support services.
Founder and executive director, Ali Casparian, stands with a crate of lettuce in front of the organization’s farmers market truck before it is loaded for a distribution at the Bounty & Soul warehouse in Swannanoa, N.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.
“The nonprofits are kind of carrying the weight of food security in Swannanoa,” Casparian said. “We’re happy to do it. It just takes money. It takes resources.”
Swannanoa resident Kevin Franklin came out of Bounty & Soul’s market with a dozen eggs and a bag overflowing with produce and dry goods.
Franklin, who said he was without reliable transportation, uses a moped to get around. Groceries are packed into a milk crate on the back. If he wanted to travel to Ingles in Black Mountain it’s typically a “30-35 minute drive,” a little slower than most along U.S. 70 given the bike’s speed limits.
More: ‘Grief-filled decisions:’ Swannanoa residents stuck in housing limbo 6 months after Helene
Bounty & Soul, a Swannanoa-based nonprofit focused on providing fresh produce, has seen a 280% increase in free food market participation. April 9, 2025.
“Getting to Black Mountain or Asheville is not the most fun,” Franklin said of traveling out to get groceries. It was his second trip to a Bounty & Soul market, but without the Swannanoa Ingles, food access has “definitely been a little tough.”
‘It is miserable’
Buncombe County launched its own monthly market in Swannanoa to help support food services, directly attributing the closure of the Ingles and continued impacts from Helene to its establishment. The first market was April 7 at Asheville Christian Academy and supplies ran out within an hour.
Buncombe County’s first Swannanoa Community Engagement Market was held April 7 at Asheville Christian Academy. The county ran out of food in less than an hour. April 7, 2024.
Amy van Gorder, a mom of four who lives near Owen Park, said her primary grocery store was the Swannanoa Ingles because of its proximity to her children’s school, W.D. Williams Elementary, and their extra-curricular activities.
“It is miserable,” van Gorder said of not having the Swannanoa Ingles open six months after Helene.
“It makes life so much harder,” van Gorder said. “It does. Battling the traffic on either side, Black Mountain or Oteen because it’s so far out of the way for us, convenience-wise. All our sports are this direction, but not in the realm of going to the Black Mountain Ingles.”
Swannanoa grocery options
For more information on Bounty & Soul’s weekly markets visit https://bountyandsoul.org.
Another food pantry is available through Swannanoa Communities Together at 2121 U.S. 70 in Swannanoa, open 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
More: FEMA denies NC Gov. Stein’s request to extend federal cost share for Helene recovery
More: Montreat ‘doing a good job’ with Helene recovery, according to Town Manager
More: Asheville-area Helene debris was ‘overestimated’ by millions of cubic yards, officials say
Karrigan Monk is the Swannanoa Valley communities reporter for Black Mountain News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kmonk@blackmountainnews.com.
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com or message will_hofmann.1 on Signal. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Swannanoa Ingles closure leads to food insecurity after Helene
