Local hotels raised over 100,000 meals during Hunger Action Month

There is a special thing that happens when a group of like-minded individuals come together for a single cause. For MANNA, this past September, which is also Hunger Action Month, that special thing came in the form of a new campaign to address hunger in WNC, called Sweet Dreams, Full Plates.

Sweet Dreams, Full Plates is the effort of more than 25 Asheville-area hotels to take action against hunger during Hunger Action Month. Each participating hotel asked their guests to help out. Hotels guests were given a Sweet Dreams, Full Plates door hanger, similar to a Do Not Disturb door hanger. Guests could opt out of room cleaning services by hanging this on their door, and in exchange, the hotel would make a $2 donation to MANNA for every participating room.

Little did we know the outcome of this inaugural campaign would hold so much value. The initial goal of the month-long campaign was to raise $10,000, which would provide the food for 35,000 meals. These incredible hotel partners met that goal in the SECOND WEEK of the campaign!! By the end of the month, these local businesses had raised enough money to provide the food for 100,000 meals – an INCREDIBLE achievement for a month-long campaign!

This campaign would not have been possible without the leadership and commitment of Robert Foster, the Director of Operations for Biltmore Farms Hotels. Robert led the charge, helped recruit the participating hotels, and kept the momentum going all month long! Robert was recognized for his leadership with the Golden Noodle Award. Thank you, Robert!

At the end of the month, we had two winners.

The Golden Pineapple Award went to the hotel that raised the most money, and we are proud to congratulate Crowne Plaza Resort as our inaugural winner!

The Dream Team Award went to the hotel that engaged the highest percentage of guests in the campaign, and we are proud to congratulate Residence Inn Marriot as our inaugural winner!

We are so proud to call these hotels our close partners in the work to end hunger. When you recommend a hotel to your out-of-town visitors, we ask you to consider one of these Sweet Dreams hotels. Please help support the business community that supports MANNA! To see the full list of participating hotels, and to learn more about Sweet Dreams, Full Plates, visit the website.

Thank you to every single hotel employee that took this campaign on and made it such an astounding success. We very much look forward to next year’s campaign and competition!