AppalFRESH’s annual Community FEaST — Food Engagement and Story Telling — will take place Wednesday on Sanford Mall from 4:30-6 p.m. AppalFRESH, or The Appalachian Food Research for Equity, Sustainability and Health, is an organization at App State that hosts events and strives to start conversations to create a better understanding of food issues. 

The Community FEaST invites anyone in Boone to Sanford Mall for food, live music and important conversations about equitable food systems; the event also features a 100 yard long table, so the community can share a meal in one spot. This year’s event theme is Appalachian Resilience, since Hurricane Helene caused the event to be canceled last year.  

Co-Organizer of FEaST, Carla Ramsdell who is a practitioner in residence in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and sustainability liaison for the College of Arts and Sciences, wrote in a press release, “Watching our Appalachian community recover from Hurricane Helene deepened our appreciation for the incredible resilience of our neighbors. In the days following the storm, skills like self-provisioning and maintaining backup food and water supplies proved essential.” 

This year’s FEaST is about celebrating App State and Boone’s community for coming together and helping each other despite the devastation of Helene last year. The community, students and staff in Boone can support this Community FEaST by bringing nonperishable food items to the Mountaineer Food Hub and Free Store and Campus Food Pantry Network. Those who attend this event are asked to bring their own plates, utensils and water bottles.