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ResourcesFresh News June: Summer Food for Kids is Out There
Summer Food for Kids Is Out There
“Mama makes dinner and cuts it into four pieces, that’s all we have. Last night I was still hungry and asked for more food. Mama said Daddy had not eaten yet so there was no more for me. I was just so hungry.” – Student at a MANNA partner school
Unfortunately, this child’s story is all too common. In Western North Carolina, 1 in every 5 children is experiencing food insecurity and chronic hunger. Research is clear: childhood food insecurity is not only heartbreaking, but it impairs child development and school learning, preventing children from reaching their full potential.
This child now gets sent home with food bags every other day, made from a MANNA partner’s school pantry. But when school lets out for the summer, while some children will be celebrating their time off, others will go home scared and hungry without their school food services.
Child hunger peaks in the summer, as school food services pause, leaving students and families who rely on these services struggling to keep food on their kids’ plates while juggling rising costs of living across the region.
This is where MANNA’s Summer Packs program comes in. Every week, volunteers at our warehouse pack boxes full of accessible food for delivery to 32 pantry and school partners across 14 counties. To receive food, all a family needs to do is show up and request one.
MANNA tries to make finding food as simple as possible. Families in need can use our Food Finder Map Tool at mannafoodbank.org/find-food/ to search by their zip code, the types of resources they’re looking for, or the days they’re available. Families with young children may also qualify for WIC, a special subset of the SNAP program. They can apply through their county health department website.
“Summer food for kids is out there, folks just often don’t know how to find it,” says Shannon Murphy, MANNA’s Youth Programs Manager.
If you would like to support children experiencing food insecurity in WNC, you can get involved by volunteering at MANNA or our food distribution partners, advocating for SNAP and WIC funding in NC, or donating to MANNA to support our Summer Packs program. If you’re involved at a school or MANNA partner already, ask about starting a school pantry or participating in Summer Packs.
Together, we can ensure that every child in our region has the resources and nutrition to grow up healthy and strong.
Ingles Milk Drive Helps Fight Childhood Hunger
This month our friends from Ingles Markets held a milk drive to support childhood hunger as we go into the summer! The event was a huge success, raising more than 3,000 gallons of milk. We are so grateful for our grocery partners like Ingles and all the ways they give back to the community.
Perishable and nutrition-dense foods like milk are essential for health, especially in childhood. MANNA’s new enormous freezer/cooler storage building allows us to hold and distribute this food safely to our 300+ partners across 16 counties of WNC.
Pack to Give Back Unites Partners for WNC
This month, we had the honor of hosting our 3rd Annual Pack to Give Back event at the WNC Agricultural Center.
200 volunteers from 17 teams across Western North Carolina’s corporate community came together with a shared purpose: to feed our neighbors. Together, they packed over 24,000 pounds of beans, which will be distributed to our partner agencies and into the hands of our neighbors.
We’re deeply grateful to our incredible sponsors, partners, and pack teams for coming together to help feed our region, one bag of beans at a time.
MANNA Goes Solar
We’re proud to partner with our friends at Footprint Project on increasing resiliency and sustainability in WNC. After Hurricane Helene, Footprint Project brought “microgrids,” small solar setups – from portable-sized to trailer-sized – to people across the region. Their units supported people who had lost their homes and were living in RVs with expensive generators, people who went weeks or months without power restored to their homes, and more.
Now, they’re sharing their work with MANNA. They donated 2 “Cooler Bees,” refrigerated trailers that run on 100% solar power, allowing MANNA to keep essential food safe and portable in the event of an emergency or power outage event. But we’re not stopping here – MANNA is also excited to soon begin installation of a large solar grid on the roof of our warehouse. Renewable energy isn’t just sustainable – it offers lower electric bills, resiliency in disaster, cleaner air and water for our neighbors, and safety for the land we get our food from!
We held an educational event with some other renewable energy nonprofit partners, state and local government representatives, and other friends of MANNA to celebrate Footprint Project’s gift and learn more about how renewable energy can support food banking and areas affected by disaster!
Last Chance for Table for Three Tickets!
We are thrilled to announce MANNA’s seventh annual Table for Three Raffle — our partnership with the Asheville-area’s nationally-recognized, independent restaurant scene. With the chance to win 52 unique dining experiences for two, Table for Three turns love for our independent restaurant scene into tangible support for families experiencing food insecurity in Western North Carolina.
How it Works:
1. Buy a raffle ticket for $104 — only 500 are available.
2. Enter to win the grand prize of 52 unique restaurant gift cards, a value of $3,000!
3. Support MANNA’s work to end hunger.
4. Enjoy a year of dining out if you win! Gift cards can be used yourself or gifted to others.
Click here to view the participating Restaurant Partners and secure your tickets today. With every ticket sold, you’re helping MANNA provide 166 meals to neighbors across our mountains — that’s a win for everyone!
Terpsicorps Dance Theater Supports MANNA’s Mission
MANNA is thrilled to partner with Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance during the month of July. Through this partnership, we’re combining the transformative power of the performing arts with MANNA’s mission to provide food with hope and dignity to neighbors facing hunger. We invite you to support our mission through these unique opportunities:
July 9: Movement for MANNA at Momentum Gallery. Join Terpsicorps and MANNA for a special summer evening celebrating community, creativity, and connection. Co-sponsored by Momentum Gallery and held in their beautiful downtown Asheville space, Movement for MANNA brings together professional dance, live music, local food, and community impact for one unforgettable night. For more info and tickets visit https://www.terpsicorps.org/movement-for-manna
July 23-25: AscenDANCE at Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Experience Asheville’s acclaimed contemporary ballet company with a performance that includes director Heather Maloy’s HUNGER – twelve vivid vignettes exploring human desire and need, blending humor, pathos, and insight. Presented in collaboration with MANNA FoodBank, it celebrates our shared humanity while highlighting the realities of food insecurity. For more info and tickets visit https://www.worthamarts.org/events/ascendance/