August 2026: Make Your Mark On MANNA

Put your impact in stone and become part of the path forward. 

For decades, MANNA’s former headquarters off Swannanoa River Road held more than food. 

It held memories. 

And as we continue upfitting our new home in Mills River, we are inviting this community to help carry those memories forward through our “Make Your Mark on MANNA” campaign. 

Make Your Mark on MANNA

Before we look ahead, it is worth remembering the moments that made our old home so special. 

Children came through our doors with classmates to sort food and returned years later as parents with children of their own. Volunteers became lifelong friends. A first afternoon of service became a family tradition. Millions of pounds of food moved through those doors on their way to communities across Western North Carolina. 

And when neighbors came directly to us, we helped. 

Maybe a paycheck had not stretched far enough. A grandmother suddenly had grandchildren staying with her and needed more food at home. An individual or family simply did not know where else to turn. 

Whatever brought them to us, one thing was certain: no one came to MANNA for food and left empty-handed. 

Staff stopped what they were doing. Bags and boxes were filled, food was loaded into cars, and neighbors drove away with something to put on the table and one less worry to carry home. 

Those moments made Swannanoa River Road more than a building. They made it a community. 

Then Hurricane Helene came, and in a matter of hours, that longtime home was devastated by floodwaters. 

The building was lost. The spirit inside it was not. 

Now, we have the opportunity to build on everything that spirit created. 

MANNA’s new home in Mills River gives us more than double the space to serve Western North Carolina. It will create room for approximately 75% more volunteers each day, welcoming even more families, school groups, businesses, faith communities and neighbors to serve together. Expanded storage, including more than three times our previous cooler capacity, will also help us move more nourishing food to communities across our mountains. 

Imagine what those spaces will hold in the years ahead. 

More children serving beside their parents. More volunteers turning an afternoon of service into a lifelong commitment. More food reaching a neighbor when it is needed most. More moments of compassion and connection that will become the stories shared within MANNA for generations. 

Now, we are inviting you to become part of that future. 

Through the “Make Your Mark on MANNA” campaign, individuals, families and organizations can purchase a personalized engraved paver that will become a permanent part of our new home. 

Your paver might carry your family’s name, honor someone who inspired you, recognize years of service or partnership, or simply mark your commitment to a future where every neighbor has enough to eat. 

However you choose to make your mark, your name will become part of the walkway leading into a place built for even greater impact. 

The memories of Swannanoa River Road remind us what this community has already made possible. Our new home shows us how much more we can do together. 

Put your impact in stone. Make your mark on MANNA and help pave the way for generations to come. 

Make Your Mark on MANNA

Mountain Cup Challenge 2026