Support from the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Wells Fargo Foundation, and the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation Help MANNA to Keep Filling Plates Across WNC

MANNA FoodBank’s daily work is sourcing large quantities of food and distributing it across our 16 county service area in partnership with our 230 member partner agency network. We could not do this vital work without the support of many individuals, organizations, businesses, and foundations. We would like to recognize the following groups for their dedicated support to our daily work, and overall mission of ending hunger in WNC:

Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation Grant supports one of the most important operating budgets at MANNA: the food sourcing and purchasing budget. Because of our connections with Feeding America and other food industry partners, MANNA is able to purchase food at discounted prices through a number of sources. The MANNA FoodBank food sourcing department works tirelessly every day to fill our inventory with a variety of foods, and this support is essential to our ability to maintain this constantly rotating inventory. This grant helped MANNA provide 9,000 additional meals across our 16-county service area. 

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation is one way in which Food Lion supports MANNA. It is also important to note that Food Lion donates a large amount of food to MANNA FoodBank every year. In 2015, Food Lion donated over 410,000 pounds of food – enough to provide 344,000+ meals across WNC. Food Lion also supports our partner pantries with a direct retail pickup program, pantry makeovers, and more food donations. From all of us at MANNA and our partner network: Thank You, Food Lion.

Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation was established in 2001 as the Food Lion Charitable Foundation. The Foundation provides financial support for programs and organizations dedicated to feeding the hungry in the communities it serves. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $9 million in grants. 

Wells Fargo Foundation

The Wells Fargo Foundation awarded MANNA FoodBank with a grant supporting our food distribution program. This general support is important to note; while many initiatives are funded with money to be used only on a specific program, the food distribution program allows us to designate how these funds can best be put to use, whether that is towards gas for our fleet of nine trucks, towards overhead costs so we can keep the lights on, or towards a specific program like MANNA Packs for Kids. The flexibility of these funds is very important at MANNA, as conditions in our area can change almost daily, necessitating a fast shift in priorities, and thus, where we need to focus our finances.

The Wells Fargo Foundation was established in 1979, and supports organizations involved with education, job creation and job training, housing, financial literacy, human services, and community economic development.

The Community Foundation of Henderson County

The Community Foundation of Henderson County awarded a $15,000 grant to MANNA to be used towards food distribution for Henderson County. These funds will support our food distribution program activities specifically for residents of Henderson County, helping to provide 45,000 meals to Henderson County residents. It is also to support MANNA Express activities in Henderson County. MANNA Express is our newest food distribution program, and is a “just-in-time” delivery of perishable foods to a partner pantry on their distribution day to support their needs for fresh, nutritionally dense foods. The Community Foundation of Henderson County is an important partner to MANNA, helping support the services we provide to support Henderson County residents that are facing food insecurity.

The Community Foundation of Henderson County, founded in 1982, supports charitable programs in the greater Henderson County area. 

UnitedHeathcare

UnitedHealthcare, through their Improving Access to Healthy, Affordable Food grant, awarded MANNA FoodBank $25,000 to support our newest food distribution initiative, MANNA Express. MANNA Express utilizes our incredible volunteer corp to drive non-commercial MANNA trucks and deliver fresh, perishable foods like produce, dairy, meats, or bread, to a partner pantry on their food distribution day. This fledgling program has already been met with great excitement, and is taking off. UnitedHealthcare’s support for this program will ensure that we can dedicate the internal resources needed to ensure this program continues to grow.

This grant is part of a larger grant from UnitedHealthcare, awarding three organizations through North Carolina to help improve access to healthy, affordable food. These grants are part of UnitedHealthcare’s ongoing effort to identify and support organizations in NC that help children, seniors, disabled and disadvantaged populations. UnitedHealthcare is committed to helping people live healthier lives.