Flori Pate’s ’92 Mission to Serve Neighbors in Need

Sometimes it takes losing everything to see the path before you.

Six years ago, Flori Pate ’92 and her husband both lost their jobs within 24 hours. The two creative directors had to quickly think out of the box.

They pivoted to creating “Dig Local,” an app that shows you where to go and what to do in their Asheville, N.C., community. It was during a meeting with one of Dig Local’s restaurant partners, Pack’s Tavern, when their marketing director shared they’d have an abundance of food after a catered event. She turned to Flori and her husband and asked, “What can Dig Local do about it?”

“I couldn’t unhear what she said.” Flori recalls. “That she was throwing away all of this food.”

Flori continues, “I know from living [here] that there’s the glamorous, food-topia side of Asheville, and then in the shadows…one in four people don’t have enough to eat.”

With help from her local church and a taxi service, Flori Pate started Food Connection.

“It was the most simple of things!” she laughs.

Flori focused on local universities, hotels and retirement communities, where buffet-style food would be left over at the end each day.

They began scheduling regular pickups, and then partnered with food recipients like homeless shelters, veteran’s groups, and afterschool programs to share the abundance. Flori and her volunteers would bring prepared food in hotel pans, and recipients could take whatever they need to heat and serve for their families.

Often parents would tell her, “We’ve never had butternut squash and my kids love it!”

Food Connection began to expand into remote areas outside of Asheville. “Going straight into neighborhoods was a game changer. These single mothers were cleaning hotel rooms for $7.25/hour and they have four kids. So many Americans are living one paycheck away from homelessness.”

The Pandemic’s Impact

When the pandemic hit, “Everything locked down fast and our food supply just stopped,” Flori recalls.

She quickly created a “Purchase Chef Meals” program through the Food Connection website. This program not only served people in need, but it got local Asheville chefs back in the kitchen. Since March of last year, more than 50,000 meals were purchased through this program.

Additionally, they’ve seen their donor base increase by over 80%, including an anonymous donor who gave them $200,000 to purchase Chef Meals. “It was such a blessing,” Flori said.

While We Live, We Serve

Looking back on her time at Presbyterian College, Flori notes, “I loved my time at PC so much. There were so many opportunities to get involved. It stirred an awareness that, You can’t be a whole person if you’re just focusing on yourself.”

Food Connection and the Community

Over the past six years, Food Connection has provided over 300,000 meals. As an added bonus, they’ve reduced environmental food waste by keeping an estimated 130 metric tons of fresh food out of landfills.

“We’ve seen that a delicious chef-prepared meal offers not just sustenance, but hope. It lets our neighbors know that they are not forgotten.”

For Flori and her husband, life is about, “being open to possibilities, and leading with your imagination.”

For more information about food connection, please visit food-connection.org.