The Gift of Food & Hope

Ways to Get in the Holiday Spirit, While Providing Food for our WNC Neighbors

The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. People are encouraged to think of others and do what they can to spread joy throughout their community, while lifting their neighbors and the people around them.

Here, at MANNA, we will be spending the holiday season doing exactly that – providing food and hope for families throughout all of WNC. If you are interested in joining us in spreading food and happiness, there are many ways to do so.

Volunteer at MANNA FoodBank. Volunteers are the heart beat of MANNA. Simply put, without the support of our volunteers, we would not be able to distribute millions of pounds of food to families throughout WNC. This holiday season, volunteers will be continuing to pack and drive food throughout the region so that everyone in our region has food on the table while they celebrate the holidays. Help give the gift of a full stomach by signing up to volunteer at MANNA.

Get into the Holiday Spirit and Provide Food for WNC Families. Thanks to some incredible community partners, you can celebrate the season, while helping to provide meals for WNC families. Rabbit Rabbit is hosting their first Winter Tree Carnival. Guests can walk through festive trees, while watching classical holiday films. Admission is free, though guests are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to MANNA. If you find MANNA’s tree, be sure to let us know!

This December, the first Winter Wonder Walk is taking place. Guests will immerse themselves in a character-driven live action winter story-based show that is perfect for all ages. For each ticket purchased, four meals will be donated to MANNA.

To get into the holiday spirit, you can also visit the Ingles Giving Tree, which is located at the Asheville Outlet Mall. All guests are encouraged to bring non-perishables to donate to MANNA. If you missed the tree-lighting, you can watch the WLOS coverage.

Feed Neighbors While Feeding Yourself. Throughout the month of December, partners throughout WNC are helping to provide food for our neighbors. Check out the campaigns below to learn more.

CVS – Register round-up taking place until December 31st.

Food Lion – Purchase a Food Lion Feeds For the Holidays box of food for neighbors from now until December 31st.

Advocate for Those Experiencing Food Insecurity by Talking with Friends and Family. As you gather with friends and family to celebrate the holidays, take the time to discuss the state of food insecurity in WNC. These discussions are great opportunities to inform the people you are close to about the ongoing issues people throughout our region are facing every day. To keep the conversation going, you can sign up for our quarterly Advocacy newsletter.

Share Holiday Food Resources. It is important to make sure that everyone in our community has access to food. That is why we have compiled a database of public food pantries and meal sites that are open throughout the holiday season. By sharing this information with your networks, more people will know of these resources and will have food to eat.

If you want to help these partners serve food to families, you can also locate nearby partners in the database and contact them about volunteering with them.

Donate. Here at MANNA, we are able to turn one dollar into four meals. Make a donation today and provide families this holiday season with the gift of a full-stomach and refrigerator.