Boone cafe filling appetites, restoring hope after Hurricane Helene

BOONE, N.C. — For 12 years, the F.A.R.M. Cafe in downtown Boone has been a gathering place for those in the community.

But never has that been truer than after Helene.

The cafe, which uses a pay-what-you-can model, operates on donations and serves guests of all needs.

“There’s a lot of love in here,” Elena Dalton, F.A.R.M. Cafe’s executive director, said.

After the storm, which destroyed hundreds of homes and caused devastation throughout the United States, people began flocking to the restaurant for both food and company.

“I think people just need a place to be,” Dalton said. “They just need other people right now.”

Just last week, F.A.R.M. (which stands for Feed All Regardless of Means) held its biggest fundraiser of the year and raised money that would typically support the non-profit throughout the year. Since the hurricane alone, most of those resources have been depleted due to unprecedented need.

“One couple came in on Saturday covered in mud,” Dalton said. “They had a landslide that took out everything except the room that they were in.”

Among the weary visitors on a Wednesday afternoon at the cafe were Katherina Grebenshikova and her mom Theresa, who had just been rescued from her home. F.A.R.M. Cafe was the first place they visited for a hearty meal in more than a week.

“In our day and age, it’s sad how we are disconnected,” Grebenshikova said. “And it takes a natural disaster to emphasize the importance of community.”

And community is what people have found at FARM when they’ve needed it most.

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