SWANNANOA, N.C. — One organization is serving the community by taking untouched, leftover food from restaurants or caterers and distributing it to people in need.

The nonprofit is called Food Connection.

Steve Dunn is a World War II Navy veteran, and he is one of the people who benefits from this organization each week.

“I feel very honored to have served our country, and it is an honor for me to have these people serving our community,” Dunn says.

He goes to the Swannanoa United Methodist Church to get the meals.

The program has been running for several years, but Debby Vance with Food Connection says the pandemic has put the company in more direct contact with people in need.

“It’s a beautiful thing to be able to hand someone a meal and know that that meal — we eat 21 meals a week — that meal they didn’t have to question where it came from or whether it was nurturing,” Vance says.

The organization travels throughout the Asheville area, and it is looking to partner with MANNA FoodBank in the future to expand its efforts.