BOONE, N.C. — Days after Helene hit, several donation sites opened in every county in the region. Since then, however, most, if not all have closed down.
One site doesn't want to join that list, and just signed a two year lease so they can keep the donations coming to the people who need it most.
Since the fall, Sherrye Trice has been stocking the shelves and making sure people know they aren't forgotten. She's been doing since 48 hours after Helene hit.
"I got my first delivery from a friend that could get here on a four runner," Trice said.
She found a way to get food on the shelves and out to the community that day because her family has been part of the High Country since 1880.
"People were in danger. They didn't have access to pharmacies. They didn't have access to heat. They didn't have access to water," Trice said.
Months later, she is still giving out food. Trice just signed a two year lease and said people here still need help.
"I think Appalachian people, we are a different kind of resourcefulness and the need to support one another and make sure your neighbor is not just OK," Trice said.
That is why volunteers like Mary Ballard and Kristin Holler, who have been out and giving food since the day after the storm, keep coming.
"I think officially there's no one living in tents or campers in the county. Unofficially, there's a lot of people there. In some cases there are families with children that, if they don't have a stable living situation, are afraid of losing their kids," Ballard said.
They are hoping people will continue donating and hosting food drives to help people in the mountains because every season comes with a different need, and fall will be back before we know it.
"Storms don't just look like hurricanes. Storms can be a diagnosis, a divorce, a loss, a car wreck, somebody's refrigerator goes out, a hot water heater," Trice said.
Trice said they still have a big need for diapers in sizes 5 and 6, as well as cereal, shelf stable food, evaporated milk, shelf stable milk and any items needed to put meals on the table in the mountains.