Change-Making: Local Policy Responses to Poverty

Sunday, June 15th at 1:00 PM - Sign up here!

Senator Julie Mayfield

Democrat - District 49 - Buncombe

I am a practical progressive. I have a deeply rooted sense of justice and fairness, and an overriding desire to accomplish real change that improves lives and makes our community stronger.

While I was born and raised in Atlanta, the North Carolina mountains helped make me the person I am today. My mother was born in Asheville and raised in Jackson County, where our family’s roots date back more than 150 years. My childhood is full of memories from time spent playing in the fields around the family farmhouse in Sylva where I learned to love these beautiful mountains.

Bo Hess

City Council Member
Term: December 2024 - December 2028

Bo is a co-founder of The Cellphone Project, an organization that connects unhoused people with communication resources,

  • Bo volunteers with ABCCM's Costello House, which provides housing and life skills to men experiencing homelessness and addiction,

  • ​Bo is a consultant for various law enforcement training programs in North Carolina,

  • ...to name a few of the ways Bo works in service to our community!​​

    ​Bo Hess has earned degrees from Western Carolina University, including a Bachelor and Master of Social Work, and a Master of Public Health with a focus on Leadership in Practice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Bo Hess has worked in diverse clinical settings, ranging from hospital-based behavioral health to private practice. Starting his career at the VA health system working with men returning from Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Bo has a strong background in trauma-informed care, threat assessment/ management, and clinical supervision. Bo's expertise in personality disorders, forensic interviewing, addiction, and sociopathy is widely recognized, with leadership roles at eating disorder clinics, and WNC's largest teaching psychiatric hospital.

Jennifer Horton

County Commissioner - District 1

Jennifer Horton is a dedicated public servant, Registered Nurse, business owner, and advocate for the Buncombe County community.

A lifelong resident of Buncombe County, Jennifer attended local public schools and has deep roots in the region she proudly represents. She is a proud mother of four, including a graduate of Buncombe County Schools and three children who will attend in the coming years.

As a Registered Nurse and the owner of five assisted family care homes, Jennifer provides housing and support for residents, many of whom have mental health diagnoses. Her professional background and dedication to service highlight her passion for addressing critical needs in the community and improving access to care.

Jennifer actively serves on the following boards, working to advance meaningful initiatives for Buncombe County:

  • Early Childhood Education & Development Committee

  • Health & Human Services Board

  • Vaya County Commissioner Advisory Board

  • Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care Homelessness Board

Driven by a commitment to equity and opportunity, Jennifer works tirelessly to ensure that Buncombe County is a place where everyone can thrive. Her dedication to creating lasting change has made her a trusted leader and advocate for the community.

When she’s not working on behalf of her constituents, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family and giving back through volunteer efforts across Buncombe County.

Sam Stites

Living Wage Program Coordinator

Sam Stites is a Transylvania County-based organizer and policy advocate with experience in labor and political organizing. He joins the staff as a member of the Living Wage Coalition of Transylvania County, a former member of JE’s Board of Directors, and a graduate of Voices for Economic Justice. Having moved to WNC in 2018 to care for a loved one, he quickly became involved in movement and coalition building, and is thrilled at the prospect of continuing to strengthen rural organizing infrastructure in the greater-WNC counties with Just Economics. Sam received a master’s in city & regional planning from UNC–Chapel Hill where he focused primarily on economic security, labor in North Carolina, civil justice issues, and wages. He loves exploring WNC, hiking and swimming, and his two cats. 

Listening to Lived Experience: A conversation on what it's like to be poor in Asheville.

Saturday, June 14th at 3:00 PM - Sign up here!

Kwanza Reid aka “Kwan Joseph”

Kwan is an Asheville native and disabled vet who enjoys writing poetry and free prose. He also enjoys Eastern Philosophy, learning African history, and productivity with his healthcare and spirituality. He has experienced homelessness and has also been in the throes of addiction in the past. He is currently on the road to recovery, practicing the ‘modality’ of harm reduction.

Moderator: Shunyu Huang

Shunyu Huang was born in 1989 in Zhuhai, Guangdong, Southern China.

Before getting her Bachelor’s degree in Ecology, she traveled to Tibet, southwest China and southeast Asia with her film cameras in search of connections between different peoples and their homeland.

In 2024, she curated her first independent photography exhibition, "Peeking Through the Threshold", in Hou Shan Contemporary Art Gallery in Zhuhai, which showcased her work from the past decade.

She relocated to Asheville, NC in 2017 and now serves her community with Chinese tea and stories of humanity.

Donovan Punch

Donovan is a musician. His solo music covers several genres, including art rock, alien rock, joy prog, soundtrack, classical guitar, audio cartoon, prog rock, and avant-garde. Most of his music includes some psychedelic elements.

Donovan relocated to Asheville from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and has been a community member since then.

Anson cooke

Anson is an Asheville native, a long-time volunteer at 12 Baskets, and an autodidact, polymath, and bibliophile.

Neisha wright

Neisha spent her professional life as a PE teacher and coach, as well as being a habitual volunteer. She moved to Asheville in 2010 and began volunteering and working with 12 baskets in 2017. Neisha enjoys playing music and doing yoga. She recently took up tap dancing.

Poverty Education? What it is and why we need it.

Saturday, June 14th at 12:00 PM - Sign up here!

Moderator: Lucy Lawrence Ph.d.

Professor of Social Work at Warren Wilson College

Lucy is a farmer's daughter growing up in the central part of North Carolina. She has worked at Warren Wilson College for 22 years, and is currently the chair of the social work department, and director of Inside Out, WWC's higher education in prison program in collaboration with Western Correctional Center for Women. Prior to that, Lucy began her social work career in mental health, moved into community development work in Peace Corps, created international development programming with Oxfam America, and worked in sustainable development through a global study abroad institution. Since joining the faculty at WWC, she has engaged in partnerships with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, Loving Food Resources, Veterans Treatment Court, the Mediation Center of WNC, and Buncombe County Health & Human Services. Lucy's classes have partnered with API since 2014, with students engaging in poverty education and creating community projects like realities of poverty panels and simulations, website contributions, and community-based research. She is currently learning silversmithing and savoring every opportunity to squeeze her local granddaughters, ages 5 and 8.

Rev. Shannon Spencer

Chaplin at Warren Wilson College and founder of API/12 Baskets Cafe.

North Carolina-native and former Executive Director of Asheville Poverty Initiative.  Rev. Dr. Shannon Spencer joins Warren Wilson as the Director of Spiritual Life and Chaplain of the College.

Before her time at Warren Wilson, she coached Division I basketball and was the Founder and Executive Director of Asheville Poverty Initiative and the 12 Baskets Cafe.  She has a TedTalk and a documentary!

Additionally, she has served as an interfaith chaplain at the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women and served churches in Illinois, California, and North Carolina. Shannon holds a BS in Special Education from Appalachian State University, an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School, and a D. Min. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

Reflecting on her time in ministry, she writes: “I have had many teachers along the way – some living in gated communities while others behind the gates of prisons and jails.  It’s been a beautifully broken journey framed by abundant grace and radical love.”

Brady Rochford

7th/8th Grade Language Arts & Social Studies Teacher at Francine Delany

Brady began her teaching career in Raleigh, North Carolina after graduating with a B.S. in Middle Grades Education from NC State University.  While in school there, Brady participated in an international studies program in Pskov, Russia, and worked in farmworker advocacy in rural North Carolina.  She obtained her Master’s degree from Appalachian State and her National Certification while working in Watagua County.   In 2011, Brady studied indigenous and biological diversity in Oaxaca, Mexico with the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Although she looks forward to another international adventure, she is most grateful to be living in Asheville and enjoys the thrill of middle school, running in the woods and spending time with her family.

Adrian Schaefer

Student at University of NC Asheville

Adrian Schaefer is a senior at University of North Carolina at Asheville who is studying Accounting and Professional Writing. Sa is interning this summer at MANNA FoodBank. Outside of my educational pursuits, sa enjoys working with nonprofit organizations both locally and within my identities, including food justice, economic justice, accessibility, and disability rights. Sa recently presented a session on resilience as applied to people with a specific disability at an online international conference for this population and is a panelist on the topic of education about poverty for Asheville Poverty Initiative’s Unlabel Poverty event.

Sa is currently torn between two ultimate career goals. One is to go on to earn sy Master’s degree in Forensic Accounting, while the other is to pursue a dual role in a nonprofit organization wherein sa would serve both as an accountant and as a writer, assisting with grants, calls to action, and other needed documents. In sy spare time, sa enjoys reading science fiction, crafting poetry and a fantasy novel, and training sy dog, who has so far earned two out of five possible levels of AKC Trick Dog titles.

Thornne Garen

Poverty Educator at Asheville Poverty Initiative

Thornne is a U.S. military veteran, a retired tattoo artist, and a former certified peer support specialist. He experienced five years of homelessness, living in a tent. With lived experience informing his perspective, Thornne brings a unique blend of creative and clinical insight to discussions on trauma, identity, and resilience. Now actively engaged in academic and community-based work, he focuses on bridging the gap between experiential knowledge and institutional practice in the field of recovery, mental health, and substance abuse. Thornne is one of the founding poverty educators at API.

Faces of 12 Baskets!

Today we introduce you to John and Abby.

Abby is an intern from UNCA who helps us daily with volunteer coordination. We are so grateful for everything she does for us.

John is a long time volunteer and spends his days off with us.

We our community!

Thank you!!

We are so thankful for our friends at @arityofficial and @allstate for not only raising money for our organization but also for volunteering with us at the cafe! This group is a true example of commitment to the community.

If your organization would like to get involved in a similar way, send us a message or email us at contact@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

Free Yoga!

Did you know @blissfullwizard1111 offers mat free community yoga in the 12 Baskets garden every other Friday? No experience needed! It's a beautiful way to start the day! The next session will be April 18th.

Weekly Events

Regular weekly events:

Monday 1:00 pm - Community Open Jam

Tuesday 11:00 am to 1:00 pm - Tech Tues with Jensen

& Reiki with Judith

Wednesday 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm Dinner and music in the garden

Thursday 10:00 am - New Volunteer orientation

Friday 1:00 pm - Creative Writing

Celebrating Black History in Asheville

Saturday, February 22 - Black Legacy Awards 2025

Celebrate excellence at the Black Legacy Awards 2025! Honoring leaders, innovators & heroes shaping our community.

Asheville Black Cultural ‍Heritage Trail Learn how Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change in Asheville. Find out more about the Black Cultural Trail here >

Asheville Black Cultural ‍Heritage Trail

Learn how Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change in Asheville.

The YMICC’s mission is to empower the Black community to celebrate its rich cultural heritage through programs that preserve and promote African American arts and traditions with a commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.  

Hood Huggers International

Rebuilding Affrilachia Through Art, Environment and Social Enterprise

Tours exploring Asheville's past, present, and future through the lens of African American history.

January Cafe Update!

In January of this year …

  • Around 3,300 total meals were served at 12 Baskets Cafe.

  • That’s an average of 825 meals a week!

  • 26 out of the 31 days in the month we served hot meals to the community.

  • Our free store gave out close to 900 bags of groceries.

  • We rescued around 16,000 pounds of food from restaurants and grocery stores.


In comparison to  January of 2024…

  • We served meals on Monday/Thursday and grocery boxes on Tuesday/Friday for a total of 18 open days in the month.

  • 1000 hot meals were served and 850 boxes of groceries were given out.

  • A total of 2,000 meals/groceries were given to the community last January. Thats around 400 per week.

  • We rescued around 10,000 pounds of food from restaurants and grocery stores.

Updates to the Strategic Plan for 2025-2028

Our board has been working on our 2025-2028 Strategic Plan. Below is the mission, vision, guiding principles, and strategic directions voted on by the board. The FULL strategic plan, with specific goals, outcomes, staff and board assignments, and deadlines, should be released next month!

VISION: A beloved community that celebrates mutuality, abundance, and equity.

MISSION: To build community and educate about the realities of poverty.

Westival Raffle Tickets

Buy your Westival raffle tickets today! Will you be one of the lucky winners? Click on each basket to find out more about what you can win!

**You do not have to be present to win. Tickets $5.00 each. 100% of the money raised will go toward 12 Baskets and the work of creating community and building economic justice.

Community Spotlight: Abby from The WANDER School

We have seen so lucky to have Abby from The WANDER School and The Wandering Wellness Clinic joining us to offer FREE herbal remedies to our community at 12 Baskets Cafe.

“In 2020, The WANDER School became a 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization with the mission to connect underserved communities in need (such as Indigenous, Black, Queer, and Appalachian) to medicinal herbs.

Over the past decade, Abby has learned and taught that much of what we know about herbs and their benefits, here in the US, came directly from Indigenous and Black people. However, overdevelopment and structural inequities in land ownership prevent those same cultures from benefiting from nature’s harvest.”

You can donate to their mission here.

Abby will be back in TWO WEEKS, follow @thewanderschool on social media for more updates.

12 Baskets Cafe needs your help!

In a month 12 Baskets Cafe rescues over 15,000 pounds of food for our community cafe at 610 Haywood Rd. We are in need of food pick-up volunteers for restaurants like Cooper Riis, Mela, Christ School, and Bounty & Soul as well as grocery stores like Whole Foods and Earth Fare.

Link in our stories to sign up to pick up or email us at contact@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

Introducing BRUNCH!

12 Baskets is open for Brunch!

Join us on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 10 am to 12 pm for weekend brunch. Coffee starts at 9 am, bring your neighbors, games, and appetite.

As always the food is free but we welcome donations of any kind. See you then!

In remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. we share the following quote, "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits." Part of his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, this award was given "for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population." Read/watch the speech here. It is important to have compassion for one another. We are all human beings who deserve love, respect, and safety.