Rutherford County Food Council
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 12:56 pm
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Moved by reports of a malnourished child collapsing on stage at a local elementary school, Barry Yelton and a group of concerned residents founded Basics Food Pantry in Cliffside in 2015 to address an unknown crisis that was coming to light. After a couple of years in Cliffside, the food pantry finally found its current home in neighboring Henrietta. Once operations were established at the new location, it became apparent that Henrietta has one of the largest concentrations of economically disadvantaged people in Rutherford County, and the food pantry would fill a dire need. Being in the right place at the right time often seems to be a miracle.
Cliffside and Henrietta were thriving communities through the early 1900s up until local mills closed in the 1970s. The mills became the backbone of those communities, building houses, a school, and churches, and establishing health insurance for their workers. The worker families came to depend almost entirely on the mills' success and lost much when the mills closed 50 years ago. Unfortunately, these mill communities have not recovered from the economic collapse that occurred as a result.
Today, Basics Food Pantry serves over a hundred households each week, comprising about 250-400 individuals total. Prior to July 2024, they saw about half as many households, but that all changed in the summer of 2024. The food pantry had already seen a major uptick in the number of households it was serving each week when Hurricane Helene exacerbated the need that September. Since then, it has remained steady with 120-140 households receiving a box of free food and 10-20 new families inquiring about services each week.
Basics Food Pantry understands the nuanced needs of their clients and have designed their services to meet those needs. Their intake process helps volunteers to tailor each box to how many people are living in the home, the living conditions and equipment at hand, and the number of small children in the family. The household will receive items that they can use based on their equipment at hand, such as no stove or refrigeration access. Basics Food Pantry also provides hygiene items, warm clothing, heaters, tents, sleeping bags, etc. upon request and when in stock.
The food pantry reports that their clients' greatest need right now is access to fresh food that includes vegetables, fruits, dairy, and meats/eggs. Fresh food improves health outcomes, and those facing food insecurity are often healthcare insecure, too. They have been incorporating purchases of these items into their weekly food procurement. With rising grocery prices, Basics Food Pantry could use your donations, whether it is items or cash.
Basics Food Pantry describes themselves as a very open and transparent group of committed Christians who are looking for volunteers that want to serve in a practical way. You can support Basics by making a cash, food or hygiene donation, donating an item for their thrift store, or becoming a volunteer.
To learn more about Basics Food Pantry, visit www.basicscm.org or call 828-289-7996. They are located at 141 Main Street in Mooresboro and are open Thursdays from 9am-1pm.