MANNA FoodBank Presents:

Just In Time: The Finished Space to Erase Hunger

MANNA has officially been operating in the renovated warehouse spaces for two months, and the updates vital to procuring and housing healthy food have already made a difference.

The new produce cooler, which is operating at full steam just in time for the bounty of the summer produce season, is keeping fresh produce fresher for longer, and more of our partners are picking up greater varieties of fruits and vegetables to distribute to communities across Western North Carolina. Thanks to our new freezer space, we are also able to accept and house much larger donations of perishable foods to make available to our communities.

“The cooler expansion and produce room in particular couldn’t have come at a better time for MANNA,” says Jen Waite, Food Sourcing Director for MANNA. “I was able to accept offers of both cabbage and corn without any hesitation within just a few days of the cooler opening. Now we’ve added kale and green beans into the mix and I already wonder how we ever managed before.”

“Vegetables and fruit are lasting longer now,” says Aaron Radin, Warehouse Associate. “Our partner agencies are definitely picking up more produce.”

Thanks to these renovations, MANNA is well on the way to providing more healthy food to our 16 WNC counties. This major effort towards nutrition is made possible by individuals just like you – a community coming together for a shared vision of a hunger-free WNC.

Below is a video of the dedication celebration that was held at MANNA on May 1, 2016, featuring a blessing by Jerry Wolfe, Beloved Man of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a performance by David Holt, honorary chair for the Space to Erase Hunger capital campaign, and the ceremonial ribbon cutting with David and two of MANNA’s longest-serving volunteers, Ken and Marj Loken.

Are you interested in taking a tour of MANNA’s warehouses at 627 Swannanoa River Road? Please contact our Chief Development Officer, Mary Nesbitt at (828) 299-3663 ext. 1230, to arrange a tour.

Our sincerest thanks go to KleinDigital.com for producing this video.