The one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene ravaging western North Carolina is fast approaching, and farmers are still continuing the recovery process.
One farm that continues to work toward recovery is Springhouse Farm in Vilas, North Carolina. The farm, owned by Amy Fiedler, has been a local source of fresh produce for their local food bank.
Fiedler, who has run the farm for the last 17 years after graduating from Appalachian State University, said in an recent interview with WXII that their farm still has little reminders of Helene’s aftermath. Some of those are seen, while others aren’t visible to the naked eye.
“We just woke up to the water rising,” Fiedler said. “The water broke the creek there. There’s a little spring that cuts through the middle of the farm, and that also flooded.”
According to Fiedler, the floodwaters lifted up the farmhouse — which was located toward the front of the property — and impacted the overall soil quality of the farm. With all the damage, she said it was Second Harvest that came to her aid.
“They said, ‘You have helped us for so many years. How can we help you?’”
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina helped out in a big way. The nonprofit organization out of Winston-Salem helped out Fiedler and the farm by installing a water filtration system and stabilizing the farm’s streambank. The goal of stabilizing the streambank was to help prevent future flooding to the farm.
CEO Eric Aft told WXII what resources they have to help out farmers.
“We devote resources to invest in over 48 farms in our region, and that is really the heart and the foundation of what we do, so making sure that they are back and healthy,” Aft said.
While a lot of the damage has been fixed in the year since Helene devastated western North Carolina, Fiedler says the impact will be long-lasting.
“I feel like the impact of Helene is going to be very long-lasting in this area, and I just don’t want people to forget about us,” Fiedler said.