World Central Kitchen, Hearts with Hands providing food, water in Asheville

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Disaster relief organizations have arrived, providing free food and supplies in the Asheville area of western North Carolina, which was devastated by flooding from Helene and where the death toll has ticked into the dozens.

Global relief organization World Central Kitchen will distribute free meals for the public beginning at Noon on Sept. 30 at Bear's Smokehouse in the South Slope district downtown, according to a local food outreach organization, Food Connection.

WCK will set up additional distribution locations outside of Asheville later.

Hearts with Hands will continue relief efforts by distributing food boxes and water from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday at the outreach ministry's outreach's warehouse in Swannanoa. The organization intends to add hot meal food distribution later.

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World Central Kitchen was founded by celebrity chef José Andrés in 2010 to provide fresh food on the frontlines of humanitarian disasters in the United States and around the world. The organization lost seven workers in a drone attack in Gaza earlier this year, causing it to temporarily pause its operations in the war-torn enclave.

The organization has teams in four states assessing needs and serving meals in the wake of Hurricane Helene, including Florida, Tennessee and Georgia.

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and covered the arts, entertainment and hospitality in Louisiana for several years. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage.

Contributing: Donovan Slack, USA TODAY